HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution 5005 Adopting the 2019 Downtown Improvement Plan UpdateDowntown
Bozeman
Improvement Plan
May 2019
3
Heart of a
Thriving
Bozeman
Page 32
41
More than
Main Street
Page 52
Introduction
& Project
Background
Page 6
Downtown
Bozeman Future
Framework
Page 20
2
Walkable and
Accessible
Page 82
Welcoming to
Everyone
Page 102
Connected
to Nature &
Culture
Page 118
Appendices
Separate
document
5 6 7 8
Table of Contents
4 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 5 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
Acknowledgments
Prepared for the City of Bozeman and the
Downtown Bozeman Partnership
PLANNING AND DESIGN TEAM
Agency Landscape + Planning
Brie Hensold
Gina Ford
Rhiannon Sinclair
Eamonn Hutton
Tatyana Vaschenko
Groundprint
Susan Riggs
Intrinsik Architecture
Rob Pertzborn
Shea Stewart
Leland Consulting
Alisa Pyszka
Sam Brookham
BOZEMAN CITY COMMISSION
Cyndy Andrus, Mayor
Chris Mehl, Deputy Mayor
Terry Cunningham
Jeff Krauss
I-Ho Pomeroy
CITY OF BOZEMAN COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
Marty Matsen, Director
Chris Saunders
Brian Krueger
Tom Rogers
DOWNTOWN URBAN RENEWAL
DISTRICT
Bobby Bear
Bob Hietala
Cory Lawrence
Tony Renslow
Bill Stoddart
Kate Wiggins
DOWNTOWN BUSINESS
IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT
Mike Basile
Jolee Berry
Eric Bowman
Ileana Indreland
Erik Nelson
Susan Neubauer
Eric Sutherland
DOWNTOWN PLAN ADVISORY
COMMITTEE
Brit Fontenot, City Economic Development
Department
Addi Jadin, City Community Development
Department
John Lavey, Community Builders
Chris Naumann, Downtown Bozeman
Partnership
Paul Neubauer, Neighborhood Representative
Tony Renslow, Downtown URD Board
Eric Sutherland, Downtown BID Board
2 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 3 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
1
Introduction
and Project
Background
This plan has been shaped by
many people in the Bozeman
community who worked hard
to create an inspired vision for
the next decade.
6 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 7 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
This isYour
Downtown.
Downtown Bozeman
is the cultural and
commercial heart of a
growing city and region.
It is the location of
cherished buildings and
businesses, hosts events
and festivals, sustains a
destination restaurant
and entertainment scene,
and has tremendous
potential to evolve as
Bozeman continues to
grow.
Hello!
The 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement
Plan (the DBIP) builds on Bozeman’s planning
history and recent energy. A successful
downtown contains a diverse mix of uses,
encourages interaction, and creates unique
experiences that cannot be duplicated. It brings
people together, sparking the spontaneity and
play that creates a great community. Downtown
Bozeman is just that place - here’s a plan to
keep it that way and nurture it forward.
Downtown’s success is tied to its strong sense
of place, which has been strengthened in recent
years by a healthy economy, a careful balance
of tourism with local livability, and a clear
framework for investment laid out in the 2009
Downtown Improvement Plan.
Yet, as Bozeman grows, Downtown cannot
be content with today’s successes; evolution is
necessary for long-term resilience. Challenges do
exist, particularly around keeping Downtown’s
local identity intact, balancing growth sensitively,
and welcoming more transportation modes
and residents. This plan has been shaped by
many people in the Bozeman community
who worked hard to create an inspired
vision for the next decade.
8 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 9 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
Study Area
WHERE IS DOWNTOWN?
Downtown Bozeman contains and is surrounded
by residential neighborhoods, historic districts,
and growing employment centers. One of the best
features of Downtown is that its boundaries are
open, rather than closed, allowing a direct, walkable
transition from the core to nearby neighborhoods.
No highway, river, or bridge separates downtown
businesses from the surrounding community.
Instead, a change in scale, architectural styles,
land uses, streetscape language, and ground
floor treatment signals that one is moving from
Downtown Bozeman into another neighborhood.
Beyond the Main Street historic district, it is
sometimes hard to draw an exact line and identify
where Downtown stops and starts. For purposes of
this plan, the area shown by a red dashed line refers
to Downtown and the “Core Area” is a smaller area
centered on Main Street from Grand to Rouse, and
north and south to the alleys.
While there may be a red dashed line to define the
study area, the plan looks beyond these boundaries
to understand Downtown in the context of the
community. The DBIP considers Downtown
in relationship to surrounding neighborhoods,
existing regulatory boundaries and historic districts.
At the same time, it is focused on a specific
area that is defined by combining the City’s B-3
zoning district with the Urban Renewal District.
This area encompasses the Main Street Historic
District and extends - at its widest points - north
to Villard Street, south to just past Olive Street,
west to 5th Avenue and east to North Broadway
Avenue. Downtown is not a homogeneous area so
there are sometimes discrepancies between zoning
boundaries and the underlying growth policy land
use designations.
VILLARD ST
LAMME ST
4TH AVE 3RD AVE GRAND AVE WILLSON AVEWILLSON AVEGRAND AVE5TH AVE 7TH AVE Bon Ton
Cooper Park
LAMME STWALLACE AVEROUSE AVEMAIN ST
MENDENHALL
BABCOCKCHURCH AVEBLACK AVEBOZEMAN AVEBOZEMAN AVECHURCH AVEMain Street
South Tracy/South Black
Lindley Place
North Tracy
B3 Zone
Urban Renewal District
10 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 11 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
Plan Coordination
The 2019 Downtown Improvement Plan
Update revises and refreshes the framework,
principles, and ideas laid out in the City’s
2009 Downtown Bozeman Improvement
Plan. It serves as a neighborhood plan for
the City, reinforcing the ideas of the citywide
Community Plan and building on its growth
projections and assumptions. The plan and
its recommendations will be used to shape
future projects and to inform municipal code,
guidelines, and policies.
Importantly, the DBIP supports and aligns with
Bozeman’s Strategic Plan, which was adopted
in April 2018. In particular, the Strategic Plan
Bozeman remains
a safe, inclusive
community, fostering
civic engagement and
creativity, with a thriving
diversified economy, a
strong environmental
ethic, and a high quality
of life as our community
grows and changes.
- Vision Statement, Bozeman Strategic Plan
calls for a “High-Quality, Urban Approach” to
planning, including growth management and
parking management, which are central to this
plan. The Strategic Plan also calls for updating
the Downtown Plan as part of promoting a
“healthy, vibrant Downtown, Midtown, and
other commercial districts and neighborhood
centers – including higher densities and
intensification of use in these key areas.”
Building on the Strategic Plan, the City of
Bozeman commenced plans, studies or
updates to its Community Plan, Neighborhood
Conservation Overlay District, Housing
Needs Assessment and Downtown Bozeman
Improvement Plan. The pace of change across
the city and increasing demands on Downtown
both required careful coordination among these
efforts so that Downtown leadership, local
elected officials, and community members can
have certainty about the future direction of the
city, and be proactive in shaping anticipated
changes.
Once adopted, this plan will become an update
to the Downtown Urban Renewal Plan and will
serve as a neighborhood plan that supports the
Community Plan.
As such, the plan closely supports and advances
six of the seven Community Plan update’s
vision themes, noted below. As part of the
implementation structure, the DBIP will help
to: “Further refine, prioritize and implement
the urban renewal plan... outlining specific
programs and projects.”
12 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 13 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
THE SHAPE OF THE CITY
The urban character of our well-planned City is
defined by urban edges, varied skyline, pedestrian-
friendly streetscapes, and integration with the natural
landscape that surrounds us.
A CITY OF NEIGHBORHOODS
Our City is made up of a series of diverse and
inclusive neighborhoods, defined by our commercial
nodes, a variety of quality housing, walkable centers,
schools, and parks.
A CITY BOLSTERED BY DOWNTOWN
AND COMPLEMENTARY DISTRICTS
Our City is bolstered by our Downtown, Midtown, and
other commercial districts and neighborhood centers
characterized by higher densities and intensification
of use in these key areas.
A CITY INFLUENCED BY OUR
MOUNTAINS, PARKS, TRAILS, AND
OPEN SPACE
Our City is home to an outdoor-conscious population
that celebrates and protects our natural environment
and immediate access to a well-managed open space
and parks system.
STRATEGIC
PLAN
MUNICIPAL CODE
ENGINEERING DESIGN STANDARDS
NCOD DESIGN GUIDELINES
PARKS
DEVELOPMENT (UDC)
BUILDING CODE(OTHER CHAPTERS)
UTILITIES
FIRE PROTECTION
OTHER POLICIES & MANUALS
DOWNTOWN BOZEMAN IMPROVEMENT PLAN
NEIGHBORHOOD PLANS
COMMUNITY PLAN
Business Growth
Infrastructure Investments
Workforce Development
Partnerships to Spur Economic Vitality
Public Safety
Health & Safety Action
Friendly Community
Active Recreation
Civic and Cultural Infrastructure
Support for Public Art
Partnerships for
Education & Learning
Clean Water Supplies
Protect Local Air Quality
Climate Action
Climate Change Adaptation & Mitigation
Parks, Trails & Open SpaceSAFE, WELCOM IN G C O M M U N I T Y INNOVATIVE EC
O
N
O
M
Y
SUSTAINABLE ENVIR O N M E N TCREATIVE, LEARNI
NG CU
L
T
U
R
E
A WELL- PLANNED CITY
HIGH PERFORMANCE ORGANIZATIONInformed Conversation on Growth
High Quality Urban Approach
Strategic Infrastructure Choices
Vibrant Downtown, Districts & Centers
Housing & Transportation Choices
Outreach
Community Engagement
Public Agencies Collaboration
Business & Institutional Partnerships
ENGAGED COMMUNITYA CITY THAT PRIORITIZES
ACCESSIBILITY AND MOBILITY
CHOICES
Our City fosters the close proximity of housing,
services, and jobs, and provides safe, efficient mobility
for pedestrians, cyclists, transit users, and drivers.
A CITY POWERED BY ITS CREATIVE,
INNOVATIVE, AND ENTREPRENEURIAL
ECONOMY
Our City, and all residents benefit from an expanding
economy that is powered by education development,
strong regional partnerships, job creation, talent
retention, and support for local businesses.
A CITY ENGAGED IN REGIONAL
COORDINATION
Our City, in partnership with Gallatin County, Montana
State University, and other regional authorities,
addresses the needs of a rapidly growing and
changing population through strategic infrastructure
choices, land use planning, and thoughtful decision-
making.
Community Plan
Update Themes
14 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 15 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
Over the course of
the project, Bozeman
community members
shared thousands of
comments with their
ideas for Downtown.
Above all else, the 2019
DBIP was built through a
collaborative process with
the community.
Engagement opportunities were provided
consistently throughout the process, using both
in person and online feedback methods. Key
elements of the engagement included:
Project Webpage
A dedicated project webpage
on the Downtown Bozeman
website, with information
shared on the City’s website as
well.
Engagement Week
An immersive engagement week
in August including multiple
points and ways to engage in
plan development and idea
sharing.
Community Conversations
Open community workshops
were held at two periods
in the process: in August
during the initial analysis and
idea exploration phase and
in October during the draft
recommendations period.
Workshops included interactive
feedback methods at both
large, public sessions (held at
the Rialto Theater) and at more
informal community drop-ins
(at locations like the Bogert
Park Farmers Market, the
Bozeman Events Center, and
the Element Hotel.
Engagement
Collaborative
Process
295+ people participated in nine community workshops
400+ comments were made using flags, sticky notes, and postcards
27 meetings
took place
across
Downtown
120 people commented on the project webpage
Online surveys
Online surveys at multiple
points, to gather both a sense
of community needs and
desires early on as well as to test
ideas during plan development.
Stakeholder Outreach
Creation of an advisory
committee with representatives
from various boards,
neighborhood groups and city
departments.
Topical focus groups with local
experts and interested parties
on relevant issues ranging from
local employers and city staff
to adjacent neighborhoods and
historic preservation.
1,891 online surveys were taken
100+ stakeholders engaged in the plan process
16 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 17 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
Process
Project
Schedule
PHASE 1 PHASE 2
Fact Finding and Discovery
June
2018
July Aug Sept
Framework Ideas and Outreach
Plan ReviewEngagement Week
The DBIP process began in June 2018 and
concluded in April 2019. The process included
four phases of work: Fact Finding and
Discovery, Framework Ideas and Outreach,
Refine and Report, and Finalize and Implement,
including public review and approvals.
Given its role as a future adopted neighborhood
plan within the City’s Community Plan, the
DBIP went through a series of review steps
to ensure the plan ideas incorporate public
feedback and align with other city plans.
PHASE 3 PHASE 4
Oct Nov Dec Early
2019
Refine and Report Finalize and Implement
Public Review & AdoptionDraft Framework Review
18 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 19 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
2
Downtown
Bozeman
Future
Framework
The Downtown Bozeman Improvement
Plan strives to preserve what is loved about
Downtown, while making room to amplify
its special character to set the table for
continued success.
20 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 21 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
The Downtown Bozeman
Improvement Plan strives
to preserve what is loved
about Downtown, while
making room to amplify
its special character and
vibrancy to set the table
for continued success.
DOWNTOWN IN EVOLUTION
The pace of growth in Bozeman in recent
years has been remarkable. New homes,
offices, hotels, restaurants, and shops have
created more jobs and continue to draw people
Downtown for something unique that they
cannot find elsewhere. While recent changes
feel accelerated, they can in fact be understood
as another layer in the community’s long-
term evolution and development. At the same
time, the quick pace means that many feel that
change is happening so quickly that it can be a
Bozeman in
Context
Future Framework
challenge to pause and take the time to consider
what the city wants for Downtown’s future.
This plan has been an opportunity for the
community to voice concerns and hopes for the
inevitable changes that are to come in the next
decade.
Even as the majority of growth has occurred
in the perimeter of the city, in areas that are
not yet built out, Downtown has captured
a tangible share of this growth. Increasing
tourism has brought new visitors to the region,
and Downtown. All of this change has raised
awareness and sparked recent discussion
among residents about the core values of the
community and the importance to manage and
guide growth sensitively and deliberately.
This is particularly important because trends
show that Bozeman’s growth trajectory will
only continue in future decades. Across the
country, Downtowns continue to draw new
employers and residents and Bozeman is no
exception. Today, with increasing access to
technology, “talent” can locate anywhere; but,
people are seeking an attraction to place and
a vibrant quality of life. With 188 clear, sunny
Bozeman, early 1960’s22 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 23 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
days per year, easy access to nature, an outdoor
lifestyle, and short commute times, Bozeman
ranks high for quality of life factors. Downtown
will - and should - play an important role in city
and regional growth in the next decades. The
DBIP creates a framework to welcome in new
mixed use development to support this growth,
in close proximity to bike facilities, transit, jobs,
entertainment, as well as increasing numbers of
visitors.
A HISTORY OF CHANGE
Looking back, Downtown Bozeman’s near
constant change and evolution has always
been tied to the broader landscape, reflecting
the changes occurring in the region. The city
center serves as a counterpoint and urban
mirror to the Gallatin Valley. Four major
epochs define the city’s urban development and
transformation. Long before settlers came to
the area, many Native American tribes used the
Gallatin Valley as an open territory for hunting.
The Crow, Shoshone, Bannock, Nez Perce,
and Blackfeet hunted in the Gallatin Valley in
pursuit of buffalo, and named the valley “many
come together country.”
“Standing right in the
gate of the mountains
ready to swallow up all
tenderfeet that would
reach the territory from
the east, with their golden
fleeces to be taken care
of.”
John Bozeman, on founding Bozeman
RECOGNIZE THIS
BUILDING?
Gold brought the first settlers to present-
day Bozeman, where Downtown first served
as a crossroads for trade. John Bozeman, a
frontiersman from Georgia who led gold
seekers west through the Montana territory
along the Bozeman Trail, founded the town in
1864. The town quickly grew from a supply hub
for transient frontiersman seeking gold and fur
pelts to a successful ranch town.
During this period, where Downtown was
an outpost, Main Street began to take shape.
By 1875, photos of Downtown show initial
buildings rising with their characteristic
storefronts and a street that is beginning to be
defined as a thoroughfare, if only for use by
covered wagons and horses.
“The Carnivals were the
first attempt of the little
city, Bozeman, to assist
in inspiring in the hearts
of the people of Montana
the love of the beautiful
and the joy and dignity of
living.”
Frances Teslow’s Winter Quarter Term Paper
24 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 25 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
By the 20th century, the Gallatin Valley had
transformed into an agricultural hub for
the region. Downtown’s growth reflected
Bozeman’s significance as a new place for
trade, commerce, and civic life. New buildings
sprung up along Main Street, many of which
have been preserved and can still be recognized
today. This period also shepherded in the use
of Downtown as an important center for civic
life and community gathering. Community-wide
events like the Sweet Pea Festival of the Arts,
which began in 1978, reflect the community’s
desire to come together and celebrate
collectively.
From the turn of the 21st century to today,
Bozeman has benefited from a strong sense
of place and appreciation for its high quality
of life that acknowledged the connection
to the outdoors and Downtown’s role as a
multi-faceted, lifestyle destination. Downtown
Bozeman’s built environment provides a fitting
foil to the beautiful expanse of landscape
surrounding it. Economic reports tout the
attraction that the outdoor environment
supplies, for tourists, residents and employers.
As evidence, in 2017 Bozeman Yellowstone
International Airport broke passenger records
for the eighth consecutive year with nearly
1.2 million passengers, making it Montana’s
busiest airport. Downtown’s continued success
and growth, weathering the 2008 recession
period with steady growth, mirrors the region’s
attractiveness and unparalleled access to
nature. Within Downtown, several new hotels
have quickly risen, along with nearly 100 new
residential units and new office space that
boasts nearly 100% occupancy.
After centuries of growth and change,
Downtown’s transition and evolution continues
with a new period ahead: one that is buoyed
by this recent momentum, but also focused on
providing equitable, sustainable, and compatible
growth in the coming years.
“With its Rocky Mountain
setting, it encompasses
the Yellowstone National
Park western entrance and
is known for world-class
downhill skiing, blue ribbon
trout streams and a multitude
of other outdoor activities.”
2017 Bozeman Economic Profile
26 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 27 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
When asked to imagine Downtown’s future, the
Bozeman community delivered. Over six months,
residents helped to assemble a vision by sharing
thousands of ideas via activities at public meetings,
dreams scribbled on coasters, Instagram likes,
thoughtful emails, and passionate discussions.
Supplied with words, drawings and post-it notes,
they drew a collective picture of the Downtown
Bozeman that they aspire to create, the range of
experiences they hope will be provided, and the
spirit of place that should always be fostered. The
2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
recognizes that Bozeman has arrived at a new
stage in its growth and evolution. Together, the
community envisioned:
Looking forward, Downtown Bozeman will
remain the heart of a thriving city, but will also
emphasize connections to other corners of the
community. A vibrant pattern of walkable and
accessible streets is now more essential than
ever, so the experience of Downtown will expand
beyond the identifiable historic core to encompass
much more than Main Street. While Downtown
changes, new investments will be targeted to
make sure that improvements are designed to be
welcoming to everyone. Finally, Downtown’s
identity will always celebrate what is special about
Bozeman and remain forever connected to nature
and culture.
Five Big Ideas
Future Framework
THE FUTURE OF
DOWNTOWN
BOZEMAN IS...
CONNECT
GROW COORDINATE
ACTIVATE
WORK
NETWORK
WELCOME
HISTORY
28 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 29 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
Guiding Principles
Downtown’s future vision is formed around
five big ideas. These ideas are reinforced by
guiding principles, which build on and revise
the original principles laid out in the 2009
Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan.
Like the 2009 plan described, these principles
are intended to provide a flexible conceptual
foundation. They can be referenced as the plan
is implemented and continuously checked to
ensure that every action is aligned with one or
more of these principles.
THE HEART OF A THRIVING BOZEMAN
• Create connections within Downtown and
among the surrounding districts.
• Manage and regulate parking to ensure
appropriate access and balanced supply.
MORE THAN MAIN STREET
• Reinforce Downtown as the city center,
through new and existing buildings of urban
density, considerable height and a diverse
mix of uses.
• Protect the character of the Main Street
Historic District and enhance the residential
neighborhoods through context-sensitive
development.
WALKABLE AND ACCESSIBLE
• Use streets, sidewalks and alleys as a safe and
comfortable multi-modal network.
• Expand transit and bicycle access and
facilities to link Downtown to other
employment, residential, and commercial
districts.
WELCOMING TO EVERYONE
• Foster a place that is welcoming and
inclusive of all ages, incomes, abilities,
and backgrounds with a mix of uses and
accessible places.
• Design new buildings for sustainability,
durability and design excellence.
CONNECTED TO NATURE AND
CULTURE
• Ensure Downtown open spaces
foster gathering, recreation, flexibility,
programming and local identity.
• Highlight nature whenever possible,
strengthening amenities that are unique to
Bozeman.
Throughout this document, the “Code Corner” is
designed to help explain how the City’s Unified
Development Code (commonly referred to as the
UDC or the “code”) can be amended to better
implement the ideas from this plan. The appendix
at the end of this plan dives deeper into the actual
sections and provides example language that may
be used for future code edits. Actual changes to
the code legally require a separate public process.
CODE CORNER
30 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 31 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
3
The Heart of a
Thriving City
Create connections within Downtown and
among the surrounding districts.
Manage and regulate parking to ensure
convenient access and balanced supply.
32 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 33 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
Downtown is no longer the only game in
town. As the city and region has grown,
Bozeman’s spirit of place has broadened
beyond Downtown. New employment centers
have emerged at the Cannery District, Midtown
is undergoing a surge of redevelopment and
investment, and the Northeast neighborhood
has become its own mixed use district, thriving
with manufacturing, retail, and infill housing. At
the same time, Northwest Bozeman is growing
rapidly, absorbing much of the new residential
growth and testing new models for retail and
office.
Far from being a competitive environment, this
multi-faceted ecosystem of distinctive districts
is healthy and beneficial for Downtown. In
the next era, it will be important to work
collaboratively across districts to create better
connections, programmatic partnerships and
shared resources.
Citywide Context
The Bozeman Community Plan, which is being
updated concurrently with the Downtown
Plan, evaluated the city’s demographics, recent
Create connections
within Downtown and
among the surrounding
districts.
Heart of a Thriving City
trends, and trajectory for the next 25 years. The
Community Plan describes Bozeman as one
of the fastest growing places in the country.
Its growth levels are surpassing the rest of
the county, the state and pre-recession levels
of growth, even while the Gallatin Valley as a
whole is transforming from a rural to urban
setting.
“Between 2000 and 2016, [Bozeman]
added approximately 17,000 new
residents, which translates to a growth
rate of nearly 1,100 new residents
per year or an annual growth rate of
about 3.0%.”
Bozeman is also the economic center of the
region, encompassing approximately 77 percent
of the area’s total jobs. Since 2005, the City of
Bozeman has captured 80% of the region’s job
growth. Bozeman’s direction and demographics
are consistently influenced by the presence
of Montana State University (MSU) and its
16,440 students; Bozeman’s age, average income
and average household size are all lower than
Gallatin County, while the city’s percentage of
renters is higher.
MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY
MIDTOWN
CANNERY
NORTHEAST
FAIRGROUNDS
BOZEMAN CREEKDOWNTOWN
REMOTE PARKING
GROWING NORTHWEST NEIGHBORHOODS
BOZEMAN HEALTH
34 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 35 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
ECONOMIC DRIVERS
Bozeman is distinguished by the presence of
MSU and the success of the local technology
sector, but other factors also contribute to
its unique success and challenges. Five key
segments drive the City’s economic direction,
and have important implications for Downtown
as well:
Higher Education
Like in many university towns,
MSU’s presence influences
housing needs and affordability,
retail demand, research and
employment. Located only
a little over a mile away, the
University is just beyond the
Downtown core and is an
important consideration for
both physical connections and
programmatic partnerships.
Tourism and Recreation
With the nearby airport,
Bozeman serves as a gateway
to the region’s outdoor tourism
resources: Yellowstone and
Glacier National Parks, the Big
Sky resort area and Bridger
Bowl, among others. The
impact of growing tourism
can be seen in increases in
airport passenger travel and
hotel growth. Tourists are also
important users of downtown
retail and restaurants.
Health Care
Bozeman Health is located just
east of Downtown. Billings
Clinic has also announced
plans to build a 97,000 square
feet ambulatory center in NW
Bozeman. The strong local
healthcare presence is also tied
to growth in technology firms
and other related industries.
Technology
Starting in the late 1990s,
the growing technology and
outdoor sectors have centered
on Bozeman. Since then,
high-tech employment has
continued to grow. Start-up
companies, ranging from
software and hardware to optics
and photonics, have driven
continued job growth.
Regional Trade Center
Bozeman is a regional trade
center for Southwest Montana,
which means that its retail,
healthcare and businesses
supply a 150 mile radius. This
broad area of service, coupled
with strong tourism, has
increased the overall amount of
retail that the City can support.
16,440 students and 3,100 employees live or work 1 mile from Downtown.
Bozeman’s growing tech sector can play a role in Downtown life.
1,000 employees
at Bozeman
Health are
potential
Downtown users.
Downtown retail benefits from Bozeman’s role in regional trade.
1.2 million
passengers
used Bozeman
Yellowstone
International Airport
in 2017
Population Growth
1860
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000
27, 509
50,000!
21, 645
8,6656,1833,419894
2020
Today - 46,596
13,361
What Does Bozeman’s
Growth Mean for
Downtown?
DOWNTOWN MARKET UPDATE
A market analysis, summarized below and
included in full in the Appendix, was prepared
to inform the 2019 DBIP by identifying market-
supported redevelopment opportunities across
a variety of commercial and residential land
uses.
Methodology and Data
The update provides a baseline assessment
of real estate, market, and other economic
conditions affecting the downtown study
area. Based on observed supply and demand
characteristics and real estate trends, the analysis
provides findings and highlights opportunities
at the downtown level. The City of Bozeman
recently commissioned the Demographic and
Real Estate Market Assessment completed
in January 2018 by Economic & Planning
Systems (EPS) that was utilized to prepare
the city’s Community Plan. In order to ensure
coordination among these plans, the DBIP
market analysis draws from the EPS report’s
assessment of population and household
growth, income, employment, educational
attainment, and other demographic trends.
A recently completed plan for the Midtown
District, which is adjacent to Downtown
and garnering new development, was also
referenced.
36 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 37 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
Downtown Conditions Today
Within Downtown Bozeman, the central core
of Main Street consists of mainly historic brick
structures with commercial uses and little to
no vacancies. The eastern end of Main Street
consists of newer construction including
the public library and office buildings. The
western end includes the County Courthouse,
a new hotel expansion and a recent residential
rehabilitation of a historic school; it also links
to the North 7th Avenue urban renewal area
and Midtown. The blocks to the north and
south of the Main Street core are also mixed-
use with two hotels, commercial and residential,
but also less continuous retail and more surface
parking lots.
New development in Downtown Bozeman
consists of infill development, which is often
a more challenging process compared to new
development on vacant greenfield sites on
the perimeter of the city. Downtown consists
of numerous property owners with various
perspectives on market value and a willingness
to develop.
Various properties
have potential for
redevelopment, ranging
in condition from vacant
to having small buildings
and underutilized lot
configurations.
LOOKING TOWARD A MIXED-USE
DOWNTOWN
It is difficult to predict the exact mix of uses
that will develop over the next 25 years, but it
is helpful to envision and anticipate the future
allocation of residential and commercial uses
that are generally anticipated for the Downtown
district. Understanding the mix of uses and
general density will inform long-term utility
needs as well as determine if Downtown is
providing the right mix of uses needed to serve
the growing Bozeman population.
While the City as a whole is planning for
a wide range of uses and densities, the
existing Downtown is already defined as a
denser environment with smaller parcels that
encourage walking and bicycle commuting
options. With this in mind, large-scale industrial
and single household detached residential
uses are not anticipated Downtown. Instead,
redevelopment will likely include a mix of
multiple-household attached units, service,
office, and retail.
What is the “Core Area?” Throughout this plan and
the code itself, there are references to the “Core
Area” of Downtown. This area is defined as: Main
Street from Grand to Rouse and to the alleys one-
half block north and south from Main Street.
The Core Area designation impacts use and height
(and potentially parking) and could be highlighted
better in the existing code and the City’s maps.
Refer to Appendix page 7 for more information and
page 111 of this report for a reference map.
CODE CORNER
But, Downtown will have more
commercial, and with it more workers.
In the future, Bozeman’s growth
will be majority residential.
53% RESIDENTIAL
NOTE: DOWNTOWN RETAIL GROWTH WILL
LIKELY BE MINIMAL, WITH A FOCUS INSTEAD ON QUALITY AND RETENTION
71% RESIDENTIAL
47% COMMERCIAL29% COMMERCIAL
OFFICEFOODINSTITUTIONAL39%44%
17%OFFICERETAILFOODINDUSTRIALINSTITUTIONAL23%26%27%
10%15%
In comparison, Downtown is anticipated to
have a ratio of 53 percent residential and 47
percent commercial uses. Downtown retail will
also take a very different shape than regional
retail, most frequently occupying ground floor
spaces in mixed use buildings rather than large
site new retail developments. For this reason,
the plan focuses on preserving and curating
the desired retail mix Downtown, rather than
projecting net new growth.
Citywide, it is expected that major growth in
land use will be dedicated to single household
detached residential units. In fact, 71 percent
of the overall city land use is anticipated to go
toward residential and supporting uses while 29
percent will be allocated to commercial uses.
These commercial uses will be majority split
between office, institutional and retail uses, with
supporting food and industrial uses as well.
38 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 39 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
Graphic visualization of the tax value per acre across
Bozeman; image and information provided by Urban3, an urban economic mapping and analysis consultant
The Value of Downtown
An important step in maintaining Bozeman’s
high quality of life as it grows in the future
in part is to use its land efficiently. Land is a
powerful resource that not only creates parks,
jobs, and homes, but also is tied to generating
property tax revenues and fees that support
community needs. The Downtown Bozeman
Partnership engaged the firm Urban3 to analyze
and visualize property values (below). This
analysis shows that Downtown, in the purple
and red area, generates the most tax value and
revenue productivity in Bozeman and Gallatin
County. Downtown Bozeman yields 6 times
the tax revenue per acre compared to rest of
the City. Downtown also yields 200 times the
tax revenue per acre compared to rest of the
County.
Increase Downtown
Employment
Opportunities
Across the country, downtowns continue
to be desirable places to locate a business.
Bozeman’s Downtown has all the ingredients
that employers and employees are looking
for. The 2016 Bozeman Economic Strategy
Update emphasized the growing role that high
quality environments play in attracting talent,
particularly of the millennial or next generation
categories. They identified that this group is
seeking features that Downtown provides: more
multi-modal options and a simpler commute;
an urban lifestyle with nearby retail; access
to amenities like restaurants and outdoor
recreation.
The majority of local employers voiced a desire
to locate offices either near or in Downtown
to provide their employees access to urban
amenities. During discussions, there was a
consistent theme that businesses would like to
be Downtown, but due to lack of office space
or parking challenges they have needed to
locate elsewhere.
Meeting the need for Downtown office
Daytime workers are vital to healthy
downtowns. They bring consistent pedestrian
life to the area and frequent local businesses
and restaurants. In recent years, new office
supply in Bozeman has been constructed
largely outside of downtown. Since 2010,
approximately 60,000 square feet of new office
space has been developed including the F&H
Building, 5 West, The Dutton, and the second
floor of Owenhouse. These projects were
quickly leased and absorbed by the market.
WEST M
A
I
N
I-90
S 19T
H
A
V
E
I-90
40 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 41 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
Since 2000, office rents have steadily increased
and vacancy has decreased to nearly 0%,
suggesting additional demand still exists in the
market for office space.
With such low office vacancy, the majority
of future employers (and current, growing
companies) are assumed to need new office
space. Given its appeal, Downtown will draw
about 50 – 75% of Bozeman’s future office.
Based on citywide projections, this means that
Downtown can expect to gain 250,000-350,000
square feet of new office space by 2045.
High-tech, real estate and financial
services continue to grow
Bozeman is fortunate to have a rapidly growing
high-tech sector focused on photonics and
software services. The industry is expected to
continue to grow, including photonics research
and development connected with MSU. In line
with this university-industry collaboration, a
majority of Bozeman photonics companies are
located around MSU and east of 19th Street,
within a few miles of Downtown. Likewise,
software and digital media companies have
located near MSU, with a significant number of
them Downtown as well.
CEOs of high-tech companies continue to
express the desire to locate Downtown because
of both proximity to other companies and
the walkable retail amenities. Technology
companies are highly dependent on talent
attraction and more likely to pay higher
downtown rents in order to compete for talent
and new hires.
Real estate or financial services are also
anticipated to provide an additional 4,400 jobs
across the city. These industries have not shown
a strong need for locating Downtown, and are
expected to be more distributed throughout
the city. Nonetheless, this industry group will
demand some additional Downtown office
space.
Create a Downtown
Infrastructure Plan
As growth is anticipated, Downtown should
continue to plan for and coordinate needed
infrastructure upgrades with development. The
City has been actively upgrading and enlarging
downtown water and sewer pipes; but, more
does remain to be done. The Downtown
Bozeman Partnership should collaborate
with the City of Bozeman on a downtown
infrastructure and public realm master plan
which includes an investment strategy to guide
utility upgrades, street improvements, and
public realm projects.
Bozeman’s long-range plans coordinate
infrastructure with citywide growth, but
Downtown’s setting has unique constraints.
The Strategic Plan notes the need to “Complete
a plan for downtown infrastructure and
prioritize improvements in the various Capital
Improvement Programs (CIPs).”
Like many downtowns, Bozeman’s utilities
are often old, in need of repair, or may be
undersized for new development patterns. It
will be important for Downtown to undertake
a plan to identify critical utility needs and
phasing that aligns public improvements
with private investments. The Downtown
infrastructure strategy should be coordinated
with the City’s capital improvement plan.
Broadening the strategy to include street and
public realm improvements will help reduce
redundancy and amplify benefits. In this way,
utility improvements can be timed with street
redesign projects or stormwater projects
with creek enhancements. Linking multiple
projects together will multiply public benefits,
ensure technology is coordinated, and support
sustainability goals.
The infrastructure and public
realm plan should:
• Establish a framework for making near term strategic infrastructure investments that incrementally build to the long term vision.
• Align development and
provide a stable path for
private investment, while
leveraging limited public
resources.
• Enhance Downtown’s identity and ensure that public realm improvements create a visually consistent and sustainable environment.
• Coordinate with city-
wide infrastructure plans
and projects, and lay out
potential state and federal
funding.
42 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 43 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
If there’s all this demand,
why isn’t there more new
office space Downtown?
Both calculations and recent conversations
show that there is significant demand for new
office space. One key barrier that exists to
new development is parking. For Downtown
Bozeman, parking is more complicated than a
simple equation that determines “how much is
enough.” Instead, there are important factors
of parking management, public and private
supply, parking code requirements, land and
construction costs for new spaces, and the
complexities of leasing that all add up to a
parking paradox: There is too much parking,
but there is never enough. How can that be?
The simple answer is that, within Downtown,
we need to add clarity, access, and supply to
Downtown’s parking strategy.
A CLOSER LOOK AT PARKING
As the 2016 Downtown Strategic Parking
Management Plan study confirmed, parking
supply downtown does not match perceived
Manage and regulate
parking to ensure
convenient access and
balanced supply.
demand. As the DBIP feedback showed, the
perception of parking availability is often
different than the reality of parking counts.
Even with the addition of the Bridger Park
Garage, there is a sense that access to parking
is constrained. For office users, in particular,
this is a significant barrier to locating new or
medium-sized businesses downtown; both code
requirements for parking and employee needs
are difficult to meet given the built-up nature of
the environment and current parking status.
Yet, multiple recent parking counts continue
to show that there is available parking supply
downtown and that utilization, even at peak
hours, which would signal an area that is
at capacity. The Western Transportation
Institute (WTI) at Montana State University
has completed parking counts and utilization
studies for Downtown since 2010. Each year,
the methodology is refined and the data is
updated. The data allowed us to examine
parking supply of both on-street (public spaces)
and off-street spaces (a mix of public and
private spaces in lots or structures).
“Continued
success! Add
onto the parking
garage.”
“Parking
will displace
business and
green space.”
“More parking
- community
needs to pay
for it.”
“Not enough
parking -
Parking needs to
improve!”
“Add electric
vehicle
chargers.”
A sample of community comments about parking during the planning process.
Heart of a Thriving City
44 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan - 3.1.2019 45 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan - 3.1.2019
UTILIZATION BY ZONE DURING PEAK LUNCH HOUR
P ROUSEMAIN STWILLSON5TH AVE ADJACENT STREET PARKING OBSERVED +85% OCCUPANCY IN 2017 WTI PARKING STUDY
KEY
ADJACENT STREET PARKING
On-Street Utilization
The most recent WTI study, completed in 2017,
showed that overall there is existing capacity,
even at the peak lunch hour. However, some
blocks around the perimeter of the study area
experience high utilization. When looking
just at on-street parking (public spaces, with
varying regulations), the peak hour utilization
creeps up. The highest used area is the center
of Downtown which experiences a 77%
utilization between 11am and 4pm. While the
average of Downtown zones still does not ever
exceed 85%, 18 individual blocks do fill up
past this rate. These areas can largely be found
around the edges of the study, in the boundary
of the Downtown core and the residential
neighborhoods where parking regulations
around time limits are loosened.
UTILIZATION BY ZONE DURING PEAK LUNCH HOUR
P ROUSEMAIN STWILLSON5TH AVE ADJACENT STREET PARKING
ADJACENT STREET PARKING
Off-Street (Surface Lots and Structures)
Utilization
While on-street parking is approaching or
at capacity in key areas, off-street parking in
surface lots or at the garage demonstrates
lower utilization overall, suggesting that there
is untapped potential already in this type of
downtown parking. Average block-by-block
parking utilization is notably lower off-street
than on-street. Likewise, there are about half as
many parking “pressure zones” (blocks where
utilization exceeds 85%) off-street as on-street.
This Downtown parking pattern suggests that
there is excess off-street parking that is not
fully accessible, usable or contributing to the
health of Downtown today. Instead, it is held
by private owners who cannot or choose not to
allow use by others.
OBSERVED +85% OCCUPANCY IN 2017 WTI PARKING STUDY
KEY
46 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 47 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
Code Requirements
Currently, the base zoning code requires 1
parking stall per 250 net square feet of office
space. While several parking reductions are
offered Downtown, this exceeds the demand of
1 stall per 370 square feet for office buildings
that was assessed in the 2016 Bozeman
Midtown Parking Demand for nearby North
7th Avenue. By requiring more parking than
is demanded by office users, it makes locating
Downtown challenging for new employers. It is
also difficult to achieve this parking ratio in an
urban setting with the building types and design
standards that are required.
Another challenge to high parking ratios
is that parking is expensive to build.
Providing structured parking on site to meet
a code requirement that exceeds demand
is a significant cost that is precluding new
downtown office development.
Parking Strategies
Throughout the planning process, parking
consistently ranked as a top community
concern. Issues of parking management, costs,
location, type and amount all rose to the top.
The recent 2016 Strategic Parking Management
Plan also identified these topics as key factors
TRACY A
V
E
$30,000-
42,000 PER
STRUCTURED PARKING SPACE
$15,000 PER
TUCK-UNDER
PARKING SPACE
$3,000 PER
SURFACE PARKING SPACE
Typical costs for building parking
stalls (not including land costs)
to make parking work better for Downtown.
Their top recommendation was to incorporate
a parking system management into the City’s
development policy that considered data
management, pricing, signage, and expansion of
multi-modal facilities. Given the emphasis on
management and the need to make the most of
existing spaces, there are three steps to improve
and expand downtown parking:
1. “Unlock” existing spaces,
2. Create more choices beyond driving, and
3. Expand parking capacity.
Step 1: Unlock Existing Spaces
Simplify Parking Code Requirements: A
healthy downtown mix of uses needs alignment
of parking demand with code requirements.
Today, office parking code requirements exceed
demand and incentives that allow reductions
add complexity and uncertainty. The current
code should be simplified to better align with
demand, while parking management strategies
are enhanced.
In Midtown parking code requirements were
recently reduced to zero spaces in certain areas
to reduce barriers and allow the market to guide
supply. Downtown, the recommendation is to
remove parking requirements in the historic
core area and refine the requirements in the rest
of Downtown. Outside the core, commercial
requirements should be revised to 1 space
per 1,000 gross square feet, except for hotel
requirements which should be revised to 0.6
spaces per hotel room. More information on
residential parking can be found in Chapter 4.
Encourage Shared Parking: In addition to
reducing office parking code requirements,
current parking can also be “unlocked” to be
broadly available by making it easier for users
to share parking and for new development to
lease existing underutilized surface parking
lots. Code barriers that preclude the ability
to lease underutilized private stalls, such as
extended lease timelines or expensive physical
improvements to existing lots, should be lifted
or loosened to achieve the desired outcome of
better use and access to the full parking supply.
Step 2: Create More Choices
Urban lifestyles bring with them many
advantages for living and working Downtown
– walkability, a vibrant street life, and access to
unique businesses, arts and culture all help to
attract more residents, employees, and visitors.
However, the downside of these benefits is the
concern that the vibrant environment that some
people love is creating more congestion. How
can we continue to foster a vibrant and safe
Downtown, while also combating congestion
brought on by more activity?
High office parking ratios
require office uses to
“hold” excess parking,
driving down the average
utilization even while
visitors feel that parking
is not available to them.
48 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 49 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
Across the country, downtowns are focused on
expanding access to multi-modal transportation
options. From bike storage to micro-mobility
options, better, safer options for downtown
commuters and visitors benefit everyone by
reducing traffic, parking demand and the
cost burden of car ownership. See Chapter
3 Walkable and Accessible for more details
on recommendations to enhance Downtown
Bozeman’s transportation options.
Step 3: Expand Parking
At its core, parking is an economic
development issue. Step 1 attempts to unlock
privately owned parking that is unused
during extended times of the day or evening,
making it more available to existing and future
development. Still, meeting current needs
and planning for future growth will require a
proactive approach to adding parking in the
Downtown core. Several initiatives should work
together to expand Downtown parking:
Add on-street parking where possible:
Downtown’s streets already provide low-cost,
front-door parking for visitors. But, more can
be done to make the most of these assets.
Introducing diagonal, back-in parking on Main
Street could bring over 100 more street spaces.
See Chapter 3 Walkable and Accessible for
more details on proposals for Main Street.
It is also important to manage on-street parking
stalls to retain them for retail customers and
locate long-term employee parking off Main
Street in nearby parking lots or a park-and-
ride lot connected by transit. If utilization data
shows ample availability in adjacent residential
areas, there is potential to develop an employee
paid parking permit system. This strategy is
frequently implemented in other communities
as a parking benefit district.
Expand and clarify signage: Downtown
has instituted some branded parking signage
and wayfinding. Consistent rules and signage
can help clarify regulations and make it more
clear what parking is available to visitors. The
consistently branded signage should continue
to be installed across the system. Common
branding and wayfinding for public parking will
also help Downtown businesses thrive.
Expand structured parking: The Bridger
Park Structure added 435 spaces to Downtown
and helped spur redevelopment of key projects.
Looking ahead, a second parking structure will
be an important tool to help offset growth and
leverage high quality downtown development.
A technical feasibility study is currently
underway to evaluate six separate downtown
Eliminate parking requirements in the “Core
Area” and simplify standards for the rest of the
B3 zone by eliminating all parking reductions
in favor of a flat standard and making shared
parking and off-site parking easier. Institute the
following requirements:
• 0.6 spaces per hotel room (including accessory
uses up to 20% of the building area)
• 1 space per 1,000 gross square feet for all
commercial uses to create a simple “blended
rate.”
Explore options to allow more urban design
variations (low seating wall in lieu of internal
landscape islands for example) as a substitute for
internal parking lot landscaping in B3. Refer to
Appendix page 11 for more information.
CODE CORNER
P ROUSEMAIN STWILLSON5TH AVE F
E
A
B
CD
ID Location Near Current Demand Area Leverages Future Development
A Addition to Bridger Park Structure Medium/High High
B Babcock & Bozeman High High
C Wallace @ Library Medium High
D Olive & Black High High
E Babcock & Grand High Low
F Third & Mendenhall High Medium
sites for potential to accommodate a future
parking structure. Beyond site efficiency and
capacity, the future structured parking site
should also be selected based on its ability to
both help meet current demand in pressured
areas today and to anticipate new demand
created by future development in high growth
areas of Downtown. Other qualitative factors
like the potential of the site to be developed
with minimal impact to natural features, in
a way that meets design standards, and/or
promotes multi-modal connections should also
be considered.
To support this evaluation, the six possible
sites were studied for their potential to meet
these objectives. While all six sites meet the
needs in some ways, the parking lots at Olive
and Black and at Babcock and Rouse may
best address both current and future demand.
Another solution for efficient parking is to
explore automated stacked parking, as is being
considered in several proposed projects now.
OBSERVED +85% OCCUPANCY IN 2017 WTI PARKING STUDY
KEY
50 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 51 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
4
More than
Main Street
Reinforce Downtown as the city center,
through new buildings of urban density,
considerable height and a diverse mix
of uses.
Protect the character of the Main
Street Historic District and enhance
the residential neighborhoods through
context-sensitive development.
52 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 53 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
More than Main Street
LESSONS FROM BOZEMAN’S
NEIGHBORS
Downtown Bozeman has much in common
with other cities like Boise, Idaho; Missoula,
Montana; Bend, Oregon; and Bellingham,
Washington. These cities rank as peers for
Bozeman’s Downtown. Each attracts people
to live, work and visit with a combination of
outdoor lifestyles, great downtowns, and diverse
economies. Yet, there are differences among
how their downtowns have evolved, and the
pattern of urban growth today.
Downtown Bozeman has grown with a strong
linear core along the historic Main Street.
More recently, new development has begun to
emerge both east and west along Main Street,
extending Downtown’s linear nature, with a
few key developments on Babcock Street and
Mendenhall Street.
Reinforce Downtown as the city
center, through new buildings of
urban density, considerable height
and a diverse mix of uses.
Bozeman’s peer cities, from Boise to Bend,
have grown with a different urban pattern.
Each of those downtowns have a core area
that is multiple blocks deep. This pattern allows
for more expansion of the sense of a vibrant
downtown onto side streets and secondary
corridors. For visitors, this adds up to a more
organic experience that allows exploration and
casual strolling through distinct districts. For
retailers and businesses, this creates a greater
diversity of business opportunities along great,
walkable streets. For everyone, it fosters better
distribution of cars, bikers and walkers among
a network of streets, distributing traffic and
taking the pressure off of the primary axis.
Where is Downtown’s
core today?
Bozeman
MAIN ST
MENDENHALL ST
BABCOCK ST
Bend
Bellingham
Missoula
Boise
WHAT IS THE SHAPE OF DOWNTOWN?
Using Google map information, Downtown
Bozeman and its peers were mapped. Darker
yellow blocks indicate areas shaded by
Google maps to indicate the urban center, or
“Downtown.”
54 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 55 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
MENDE
N
H
A
L
L
S
T
R
E
E
T
MAIN ST
R
E
E
T
BABCO
C
K
S
T
R
E
E
T
OLIVE S
T
R
E
E
T
CURTISS
S
T
R
E
E
T
KOCH S
T
R
E
E
T
VILLARD
S
T
R
E
E
T
MAIN S
T
R
E
E
T
H
I
S
T
O
R
I
C
DISTRI
C
T
OLIVE S
T
R
E
E
T
BOZEMAN CREEK
STORY S
T
R
E
E
T
LAMME
S
T
R
E
E
T THIRD AVENUEGRAND AVENUEWILLSON AVENUETRACY AVENUETHIRD AVENUEGRAND AVENUEWILLSON AVENUETRACY AVENUEBLACK AVENUEBOZEMAN AVENUECHURCH AVENUEBEALL S
T
R
E
E
T
ALLEY
ALLEY
Potential Capacity (buildings are hypothetical and for illustrative purposes only)
Urban Renewal District boundary
Potential Sites for Future Parking Structures/Expansion
Approved or Proposed*
Main Street Historic District boundary
Existing
Under Construction*
Legend
+P
+P
+P
+P
EMERSON LAWN
BOGERT PARK
SOROPTOMIST PARK
+P
+P
LAMME
S
T
R
E
E
T
MAIN S
T
R
E
E
T
STORY DI
T
C
HBLACK AVENUEBOZEMAN AVENUEROUSE AVENUECHURCH AVENUEWALLACE AVENUE
BROAD
W
A
Y
A
V
E
URBAN
R
E
N
E
W
A
L
DISTRIC
T
THEORETICAL MODEL FOR ILLUSTRATIVE PURPOSES ONLY
+P
LINDLEY PARK
CREEKSIDE PARK
BEALL PARK
*As of January 1, 2019
56 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 57 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
PLANNING FOR GROWTH
Growth Since the 2009 DBIP
Since the 2009 plan, Downtown momentum
has been building. From 2009 to today, the area
has seen:
• Construction of 97 residential units;
• Construction of 60,000 square feet of office
space;
• Addition of two new downtown hotels; and
• Ongoing public realm improvements
including planting of 42 new street trees and
over a dozen facade improvement projects.
Future Projected Development
The result of these projects is a vibrant
center that continues to attract energy and
development. Today, a third new hotel project is
going up through adaptive reuse of the former
Armory building (122 rooms), two more mixed
use buildings are in construction on Main
Street, and 48 housing units will soon be open
for new residents. An additional 275 housing
units, a fourth hotel (127 more rooms), and two
more mixed use office buildings are proposed
or in the approvals process.
Housing: Across the city, new residential
is typically developing at densities of 4.0 –
7.0 units per acre gross density. More single
household detached residential units and less
mid-density housing (townhouses – fourplexes)
are being built. Overall, there has been slight
increase in larger multi-family units of 50+
units from 36 percent to 39 percent.
Downtown captured 4.5 percent of city-wide
new attached residential units since 2010.
Bozeman’s residential vacancy rate is below
four percent, while Downtown vacancies are
near zero. A vacancy rate close to or below five
percent indicates a “tight” market, with supply
not keeping pace with multifamily demand.
Based on anticipated population growth
outlined in the Community Plan, Bozeman
requires approximately 12,700 units by 2045.
Downtown is expected to continue its trend
to capture five percent of city-wide attached
housing unit growth, and may grow to capture
closer to ten percent. This means that, based
on these trends, Downtown market demand for
new housing will range from 400 to 800 units
by 2045.
These housing units will range from
townhouses to multifamily projects. Based on
prior and anticipated continuing trends for
construction of multi-family projects of 50
units, 145 to 290 units within this building type
or 3 to 6 new projects could be constructed
downtown. Additional downtown residential
development will help support and maintain
amenity-based retail businesses and provide
nearby housing for the increasing number of
downtown employees.
Office: In Chapter 2. Heart of a Thriving City,
the plan explored employment growth and
office demand. In summary, there is demand
for approximately 250,000-350,000 square feet
of office space, including 100,000 square feet
for the professional, scientific and technical
services industries in Downtown by 2045.
POTENTIAL DEVELOPMENT
CAPACITY
Considered for structured parking
Recent and Planned Projects
P
Existing
Under Construction
In Planning or Approvals
ADDITIONAL DOWNTOWN HOUSING UNITS BY 2045
+400
Potential Capacity (hypothetical)
BOZEMAN CREEK
STORY DITCH
ROUSE A
VE
WALLACE
AVE
MAIN S
T
WILLS
ON AVE
MENDE
N
H
A
L
L
S
T
BABC
O
C
K
S
T
P
P
P
P
P
P +250K to
350K SFOF NEW DOWNTOWN OFFICE SPACE BY 2045
CURRENTLY UNDER
CONSTRUCTION, APPROVED
OR PROPOSED
Recent and Planned Projects
Existing
Under Construction
In Planning or Approvals
HOUSING UNITS
HOTEL ROOMS
MIXED USE BUILDINGS
323
249
2 more
BOZEMAN CREEK
STORY DITCHROUSE
A
VE
WALLAC
E
AVE
MAIN S
T
WILLS
O
N
AVE
MENDE
N
H
A
L
L
S
T
BABCO
C
K
S
T
58 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 59 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
STRENGTHEN DOWNTOWN
CHARACTER AREAS
With the core largely developed and protected
as the Main Street Historic District, Downtown
Bozeman’s future growth will occur off of
Main Street. This is a tremendous opportunity
to foster vibrancy and a sense of place beyond
the central spine today. Already, beyond Main
Street, several areas of Downtown have unique
characters that are defined around four key
streets: Wallace Avenue, Rouse Avenue, Black
Avenue, and Grand Avenue.
Acknowledging that
Downtown must be
“more than Main Street,”
future improvements can
strengthen the character
of smaller areas within
Downtown, broadening
the experience and sense
of place.
Protect the character of the Main
Street Historic District and enhance
the residential neighborhoods through
context-sensitive development.
More than Main Street
Bon Ton
GRAND AVE CULTURAL ARTS
Midtown
Cooper Park
South Tracy/South Black
Lindley Place
North Tracy BLACK AVE DOWNTOWN BIKE HUB
ROUSE AVE CIVIC GATEWAY
WALLACE AVE INDUSTRIAL HERITAGE
MAIN STHISTORIC COREMain Street
60 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 61 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
MAIN
BABCO
C
K
WALLACE AVENUE
Celebrate Industrial Heritage
Today: Located at the eastern end of
Downtown, the area around Wallace Avenue
has distinctive character and development
patterns. It is defined by buildings that reflect
Bozeman’s industrial heritage in form, material
and scale, such as Nash-Finch building, the
Montana Ale Works building, AG Depot,
and the Gallatin Seed Company. Newer and
remodeled buildings like the Bozeman Public
Library and the Olive and Wallace building
continue to reflect the area’s industrial patterns.
Future: Many sites are underutilized or have
been discussed for redevelopment. As this
occurs, new projects should reinforce the
industrial heritage identity. It should be noted
that South Wallace (Main to Curtis) includes an
identified asbestos facility requiring remediation
in conjunction with any public or private
improvements. Key opportunities include:
• Encourage mixed use development that
reinforces Wallace Avenue, Mendenhall
Street and Babcock Street as urban
corridors.
• When possible, encourage adaptive reuse or
integration of design elements that honor
the area’s industrial heritage.
• Many people reported challenges navigating
Wallace Avenue. Parking should be removed
or formalized as needed on the east side to
minimize traffic conflicts and pinch-points.
• If substantial redevelopment occurs along
the east side of South Wallace, connect the
street grid by continuing Babcock east into
the library parking lot.
ADD BIKE LANES TO
BABCOCK
REMOVE 1 SIDE OF PARKING TO REDUCE TRAFFIC CONFLICTS
IMPROVE PEDESTRIAN
CROSSING
CONNECT STREET GRID WITH LONG-TERM REDEVELOPMENT
P
MENDE
N
H
A
L
L WALLACELIBRARY
LINDLEY
TRAIL &
SCULPTURE PARK
62 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 63 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
COORDINATE DEVELOPMENT WITH FLOOD PLAIN
MAIN
BABCO
C
K P
MENDE
N
H
A
L
L
BOZEMAN CREEK
ROUSE AVENUE
Create a Civic Gateway
Today: Already, Rouse Avenue ties together
many of Downtown Bozeman’s civic anchors.
City Hall, Bozeman Creek, Hawthorne
Elementary School and Soroptomist, Bogert
and Creekside Parks are all tied together
by Rouse. Rouse Avenue is currently being
improved north of Main Street with new bike
facilities and streetscape. New flood plain maps
should be considered in future development
and stormwater management of open spaces.
Future: Significant park and natural system
improvements can transform this street into
Downtown’s civic spine. Key development
opportunities should reinforce flood plain
resilience and important corners like Babcock
Avenue and Rouse Avenue. Key steps are:
• Re-imagine Soroptomist Park as a multi-
functional heart, with flexible amenities for
all ages, that can be programmed for small
and large events.
• Improve Babcock Street’s urban presence
with future development that engages the
street and creates a walkable environment.
• Transform Bozeman Creek into a linear
landscape, with restoration and access when
possible.
• Incorporate food-oriented retail that can
benefit from outdoor plazas and creekside
amenities.
• See Chapter 7 Connected to Nature and
Culture for more details on the Soroptomist
Park and Bozeman Creek ideas.
EXPLORE CONNECTIONS
BETWEEN BOGERT PARK
AND DOWNTOWN
FLEXIBLE SPACE
FOR LARGE EVENTS
RE-IMAGINE
SOROPTOMIST PARK
ART/INTERPRETATION
OF CREEK
INTEGRATED CREEK
LANDSCAPE
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT & BIKE LANES ALONG ROUSE ROUSEHAWTHORNE
ELEMENTARY
CREEKSIDE
FREQUENT FLOODING
CITY HALL
64 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 65 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
BLACK AVENUE
Imagine Downtown’s Biking Hub!
Today: Identified as a bike route through the
city, that connects to the Gallagator Trail and
the Fairgrounds, Black Avenue is home to many
of Downtown’s existing bike facilities: a fix-it
station and covered bike storage at the Bridger
Park Garage, blue on-street bike stall by the Co-
op, the Owenhouse bike shop, and even guest
bikes at the Element Hotel.
Future: Located midway between the east
and west ends of Downtown, Black Avenue is
a central location to continue to concentrate
bike amenities and communicate Downtown’s
commitment to being bike-friendly. Key
projects that can reinforce bike safety and
promote biking are:
• Focus on creating a safe place for bikes,
pedestrians, and cars to travel together. Test
adding a pedestrian “scramble” intersection
at Black and Main Street that synchronizes
pedestrian walk signals in both directions at
the same time.
• Explore installing new traffic signals at the
intersections of Black Avenue with Babcock
Street and Mendenhall Street to reduce
vehicular speeds, enhance multi-modal
functionality, and provide safer pedestrian
crossings through the center of Downtown.
• Black Avenue is already lined with many of
Bozeman’s new development projects. With
additional redevelopment of sites along it,
development can continue to showcase new
downtown development at all scales.
MAIN
MENDE
N
H
A
L
L
BABCO
C
K
TO GALLAGATOR
SHOWCASE THE CITY’S BIKING & SUSTAINABILITY
COMMITMENT WITH
BIKESHARE & EV CHARGING STATIONS
P BLACKGUEST BIKES
TO FAIRGROUNDS
FIX-IT STATION
STORAGE
POTENTIAL TO ADD 2
PARKING LEVELS
TEST A PEDESTRIAN “SCRAMBLE” AT MAIN & BLACK
CREATE LINKS TO
MSU BIKESHARES TO
ENCOURAGE STUDENTS TO BIKE DOWNTOWN
EXPLORE SIGNALS AT BABCOCK AND MENDENHALL
P
BLUE BIKE STALL
BIKE STORAGE
DESIGNATE ON-STREET
RIDESHARE PARKING
66 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 67 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
Grand Avenue
Expand the Cultural Arts Heart
Today: Downtown Bozeman fosters a bright
arts and cultural scene, with projects that
celebrate historic architecture and create space
for performing and visual arts. Grand Avenue
is the heart of Downtown’s arts and culture
pulse, punctuated with venues like the Emerson
Center for the Arts & Culture and nearby Rialto
and Ellen, as well as notable architecture like
the Baxter and the Willson buildings, which
both host a variety of events.
Future: In many ways, the right ingredients are
all in place around Grand Avenue particularly
in terms of buildings and program. Yet, there
is an opportunity still for the public realm - the
streets and open spaces - to also be a platform
for arts programming and identity. Key ideas
for Grand Avenue are:
• Create a linear arts corridor along Grand
Avenue including additional Downtown
public art or murals and wayfinding to
destinations.
• Enhance pedestrian intersections for easier
crossings. Introduce public art to add
visual interest and strengthen pedestrian
environment.
• Use development opportunities in this
area to diversify the mix of uses such as by
expanding housing at Grand/Mendenhall.
EMERSON
MAIN
BABCO
C
K
COURTHOUSE
WILLSON
P
MENDE
N
H
A
L
L
DESIGNATE ON-STREET
RIDESHARE PARKING
FUTURE INFILL DEVELOPMENT
THE LARK
FORMER ARMORY
THE ELLEN
THE BAXTER
THE RIALTO
LINEAR ARTS CORRIDOR GRANDIMPROVE PEDESTRIAN
CROSSING
68 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 69 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
MENDE
N
H
A
L
L
S
T
BABC
O
C
K
S
T
Historic Districts and
Protected Character
Downtown’s character is inextricably tied to
the presence of historic buildings that lend
architectural character and integrity to the
sense of place. Six nationally recognized
Historic Districts, located within and around
Downtown, celebrate and lend a level of
protection to the physical environment.
Beyond these districts, a 2016 historic inventory
assessed over 100 buildings downtown. The
report identified 24 buildings that make
a historic contribution to downtown and
may, in the future, be considered for further
recognition. The 2016 assessment should
be considered in future decisions, but is not
intended to be a rigid set of instructions. These
properties cover all time periods and vary in
significance, quality and current maintenance.
In addition to the properties that are in a
historic district or have other contributing
value, there are many other sites that are
essentially protected due to ownership by the
City of Bozeman, Gallatin County, Federal
GSA, Bozeman School District, and several
non-profits (churches and the Emerson). Given
their stability and mission-based enterprises,
there is less probability that they will change
as significantly as many private properties.
Ultimately, given existing ownership patterns
and historic districts, there is a considerable
amount of property, within and adjacent to
Downtown, that is stable and less susceptible to
change.
South Tracy/South Black
Bon Ton
Cooper Park
National Register Historic District
Note: Not all historic structures may be included on this map; the data is based on the formal list and a specific study from 2016
Existing
Individually Listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Noted as possibly historic in a 2016 assessment
Legend
MAIN
S
T
BOZEMAN CREEK
STORY DITCHROUSE AVE
WALLACE AVE
WILLSON AVE
Main Street
Lindley Place
North Tracy
70 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 71 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
Foster Diverse Retail and
Restaurants
For Downtown’s retail future, the critical
question is about quality and mix, not
quantity. Downtown and Bozeman both have
a strong supply of retail that is buoyed by the
city’s role as a regional trade center and tourism
hub. With this foundation, the focus for
Downtown should be supporting the continued
success of existing retail and fostering the
desire to serve the community’s needs.
WHAT DOES RETAIL LOOK LIKE
DOWNTOWN?
Retail is an essential contributor
to a lively streetscape and
walkable setting. Can you
imagine what Downtown
Bozeman would look like
without it? During the
plan’s engagement process,
participants indicated that
Downtown is their #1 daily
shopping destination, and the
most popular destination for
dining and entertainment1.
Despite how important retail
is to Downtown Bozeman’s
identity and community value,
it can be tricky for retail to
succeed and thrive, particularly
with mounting online
competition.
1 Based on 452 responses to a Retail and
Restaurant survey online during summer and fall, 2018.
Downtown consists of a distinct district of
small retail spaces north and south of Main
Street between Grand, Wilson and Tracy.
This area contains a large concentration of
clothing and gift retailers. In contrast, bars
and restaurants are generally more distributed
across all of Downtown. These small retail
cross-streets connect to Downtown hotels and
the tourist base, which is a broader, unique,
higher-income customer base inclined to make
purchases at the small boutique retailer. Retail
in downtown environments largely takes the
form of ground level storefronts in existing
buildings or new mixed use housing or office
developments. Downtown’s higher land costs
and smaller parcel sizes cannot support the
large, single-story buildings and high parking
requirements that comprise most retail settings
elsewhere in the city.
Rather than quantifying
a designated amount
of additional retail, the
goal should be to play
an active role in curating
the type of retail that
is desired Downtown -
to intentionally foster
a place that serves
the surrounding the
neighborhoods.
Finding something new & unique (62%)
Dining with
friends & guests
(74%)
Fine Dining
Bars
54%
Casual dining and coffee shops
53%Specialty merchandise - outdoor supplies
51%
Grocery stores and basic shopping needs
28%
15%
What would you like more of Downtown?
1/4 MILE ROUSE AVEMAIN STWILLSON AVEWILLSON AVE5TH AVE 7TH AVE 72 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 73 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
TAKE AN ACTIVE ROLE IN DOWNTOWN
RETAIL SUCCESS
When it comes to Downtown retail, the
community was clear that it is important to
provide everyday services as well as unique
boutique attractions. Taking into account
Downtown’s local retail environment, the
following actions are recommended to “curate”
the retail offerings even more intentionally and
support the success of the existing retailers.
Curate the right mix
An intentional focus on the right retail and
restaurant mix will create the place and
services desired by the community. Downtown
consists of numerous property owners, so the
Downtown Bozeman Partnership should take
the lead in collaborating with property owners,
to serve as the active orchestrator of this mix,
like the role of a commercial center operator.
Successful commercial centers are intentionally
programed with events and retailers that serve
their customers. The Partnership should take
on this mindset for Downtown. Ultimately,
the final tenant decision is up to the property
owner; however, education and a collective
approach to curating tenants that serve a larger
vision will benefit owners and the community.
Collaborate to promote a retail district
Work with property owners and retailers to
envision Downtown as a cohesive retail district.
Build an understanding among individual
businesses that the success of one benefits all.
A great example of this is the introduction
of the new Lululemon store located on Main
Street. If retailers align, they can leverage
this significant customer attraction to draw
additional business to independent stores.
When introduced thoughtfully, a national
retailer can bring a new customer base to
Downtown. Additionally, the growing number
of Downtown hotels can help to communicate
the retail district concept. They can promote
retailers by sharing discounts or incentives
for travelers. For example, Pure Barre across
the street from the Element Hotel provides a
discount on classes for hotel customers.
Stay flexible
As the retail industry is undergoing significant
shifts, the best course of action is to remain
flexible. The community should make sure
the regulatory, organizational, and marketing
environments are as supportive as possible
to retain existing retailers and allow for new
innovations to emerge.
Keep tabs on what you have
Develop and maintain a current inventory
of the retail space within Downtown. As
space becomes available, the Partnership can
work with property owners to recruit retail
tenants that compliment the existing retailers
to enhance the area as a defined destination.
Education can help property owners
understand how they will earn more revenue
in the long run by intentionally “curating” a
quality tenant that not only benefits downtown
but them as well.
The inventory can also track changes over
time so that steps can be taken early and
proactively to help maintain a balance of
retail and restaurants. Downtown is ultimately
a great place for food and beverage uses if
they are part of a healthy retail and restaurant
mix. Restaurants do not have to compete with
e-commerce (you can’t buy a pint of beer over
the internet!) and they provide an amenity for
employees and residents.
Design matters
Create programs to help existing retailers
increase sales by bringing in expertise who
can work with city staff, the Partnership, local
property owners, and retailers to educate
stakeholders on how to enhance storefront
design, internal layouts and operations to
maximize sales revenue.
Over a Dozen Façade Improvement Projects Since 2010
+12
The long list of permitted uses in the Unified
Development code should be simplified. Things
like civic uses and daycares should be allowed
anywhere in B-3. Refer to Appendix page 7 for
more information.
It is important to maintain high-volume pedestrian
uses on the ground level in the Core Area (defined
as “along Main Street from Grand to Rouse and
to the alleys one-half block north and south from
Main Street”) but allowing more use flexibility in
the rest of the B3 zone including side streets and
alleys would benefit the district. Refer to Appendix
page 14 for more information.
Promote ground-floor retail but don’t require
it. Inflexible ground-floor requirements often
result in vacancies or high turnover. Remove
code references that require 20 feet of “retail
space depth.” Refer to Appendix page 8 for more
information.
CODE CORNER
74 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 75 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
Keep Investing in Great Streets
A high-quality retail destination needs to
encourage shoppers to continue to walk along
storefronts as part of an overall downtown
experience. Main Street’s success is evidence of
the importance of a well-designed pedestrian
area, including adequate sidewalks, spillover
of cafe uses, human-scaled lighting, flower
baskets for beautification, banners/signage, and
furnishings like benches that encourage people
to linger and stay.
Since the 2009 plan, the Downtown Bozeman
Partnership has implemented a streetscape
improvement program on Main Street as well
as some side street locations that add brand and
identity, color and visual interest, and beauty to
the streets. This program should be continued
and expanded in the following ways:
• Continue to implement the streetscape
improvement program: Due to building
design and orientation, many Main Street
corners and side streets still consist of
blank walls that subconsciously discourage a
shopper from turning the corner to further
the retail experience. The Downtown Urban
Renewal District has already completed
preliminary engineering plans of every side
street streetscape as well as Main Street
(east of Rouse) and Mendenhall Street. The
Downtown streetscape improvement project
should be implemented in these additional
locations with designs that specifically
enliven the corners. Likewise, 80% of
respondents to a survey said that using
native plants is one of the key ways that
Downtown should express local identity2.
The Partnership should explore ways to
use a seasonal, local plant palette in various
downtown plantings to add variety, resilience
and local landscape beauty.
• Incorporate art: Beyond the existing
improvement palette of lighting, street trees
and flower baskets, the Partnership can
partner with property owners to experiment
with sites where blank walls can incorporate
murals, plantings or art. Continued use of
sidewalk art and temporary art, even simple
strategies like chalk on sidewalks and display
windows can continuously add dynamic
interest.
• Connect indoors to outdoors: A strong
connection - both visually and in terms
of use - between inside a storefront and
the sidewalk zone has multiple benefits. It
enlivens the street for passerby, gives retail
and restaurants higher visibility, and adds
places for people to pause and rest along
the busy street. Beyond modest benches,
this can be difficult to expand, in existing
development that already is built to the
street edge. New private development
should help to build in small scale spaces
that connect indoor to outdoor. The recent
Element Hotel, 5 West, and Lark Hotel
developments have incorporated front patio
and rear courtyard spaces.
2 Based on 447 responses to a Parks and Open
Spaces online survey, open summer and fall, 2018.
TREE-LINED STREETS
MAIN
MENDENHALL
BABCOCK
• Manage sidewalk encroachments:
Sidewalk cafe tables, seating, signage, and
sandwich boards activate the street and offer
businesses the opportunity to draw patrons
into shops and restaurants and promote
their services. At the same time, downtown
sidewalks can become crowded and these
amenities can instead become hindrances
to comfortably walking along downtown
streets. The encroachment policy and permit
system should be updated to find the correct
approach for today’s pedestrian volumes and
use patterns that carefully balances vibrancy
and walkability with accessibility and ease of
travel.
76 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 77 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
ENLIVEN THE ALLEYS
Think small!
Downtown’s retail identity is
largely focused on Main Street,
as well as some key side streets
like Grand, Willson, and Tracy
Streets. “Front door” locations
on Main Street are prime sites
for established retailers, but
are typically large spaces on
deep blocks. These large spaces
often have higher rents and
limit opportunities for new
businesses to start-up in smaller
spaces. Downtown’s side streets
and alleys are great locations to
encourage start-up retail spaces,
smaller maker spaces, or offices.
Image from the Downtown Bozeman Alley Sketchbook (image by DHM Design)
Promote smaller alley-based retail/offices:
Within Downtown, several alleys have begun
to be activated by subdividing deep Main Street
retail space to create smaller space off the back
alley. Rockford Coffee has added a roastery
and Wild Joe’s Coffee has carved out two artist
studios. The Partnership has already created the
Downtown Bozeman Alley Sketchbook study
with ideas for various downtown alleys.
Create secondary connectors: During
warmer (less snowy) months, use the alleys as
secondary east-west bikeways, including signage
and wayfinding. The alleys are also important
pedestrian connectors already, and should be
enhanced with more lighting for safer use at
more hours of the day.
Plan for maintenance, business operations
and winter needs: Design and activation
of the alleys should be done in coordination
with the realities of an active, four season
Local retail and restaurants typical seek small 2,500 square feet spaces to minimize risk.
city. Trash pickup, snow removal, emergency
services, universal access, and others should
be considered as projects for the alleyways are
proposed. Permanent improvements should
be coordinated with utility maintenance and
ongoing stormwater management projects.
To the extent possible, managing deliveries in
the alleys will improve other types of access
and uses there, reducing times when passage is
blocked by trucks.
Build a unique alley personality: The
Downtown Bozeman Alley Sketchbook study
laid out a series of aesthetic and functional
improvements that can be made to the alleys
north and south of Main Street to make them
more usable spaces. These improvements will
Allow lower volume pedestrian uses like offices
and artesian/light manufacturing (and maybe
even residential) on the ground level along alleys
to help “unlock” small, more affordable lease
space and make it available as quirky, incubator
locations for businesses. Refer to Appendix page
8 for more information.
Allow businesses located along alleys to have
wall signage without penalizing or making
the primary “front” tenants redo their existing
signage. Refer to Appendix page 11 for more
information.
Note: snow removal, garbage collection,
accessibility, addressing, utility coordination
/ maintenance will need to be carefully
coordinated along the alleys.
CODE CORNER
78 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 79 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
support the adjacent small business/retail
components. Signage, lighting, murals and
art, and landscape can all co-exist with the
important functional elements of the alleys, like
service and loading, while adding vitality and
identity to these unique spaces. The alleys are
also prime spaces for experimentation, almost
“hidden” gems that need to be discovered.
Ideas such as installation of vintage or
new neon signs, small apartments or other
unexpected sights and uses can be tested in this
deliberately eclectic area.
ALLEY ENHANCEMENT TARGET AREAS
MAIN
MENDENHALL
BABCOCK
Imagine a more usable,
flexible alley!
80 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 81 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
5
Walkable and
Accessible
Use streets, sidewalks and alleys as
a safe and comfortable multi-modal
network.
Expand transit and bicycle access and
facilities to link Downtown to other
employment, residential, and commercial
districts.
82 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 83 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
Walkable & Accessible
Being able to walk around Downtown means more
than just being able to boast a healthy community.
Truly walkable urban communities are typically
much more economically vibrant than comparable
suburban, car-dependent communities. Downtown
Bozeman’s generally wide street right of ways allow
for adaptation and new design approaches that
encourage safe and comfortable pedestrian activity,
opportunities for bike infrastructure, and alleys that
can support a variety of service and non-service
activities.
Downtown is just at the beginning of a multi-
modal network renaissance. As more people
move into dense urban areas, the City will need
to respond with a safe, welcoming public realm
to get them from one destination to the next.
Ultimately, this will help to relieve the burdens of
driving and car ownership. As implementation of
key ideas moves forward, a transportation study
by a transportation engineering expert should be
undertaken to test and evaluate preferred options.
Use streets, sidewalks
and alleys as a safe
and comfortable multi-
modal network.
Planning Context
In 2017, Bozeman introduced a citywide
Transportation Master Plan (TMP) to
comprehensively review current infrastructure,
development, and land use patterns to guide
transportation-related investments for the
growing city. The TMP tested ways to expand
biking infrastructure and solve vehicle conflicts
Downtown in an effort to support a balanced
transportation system and transit mode share.
Downtown Bozeman is central to a wide variety of
activities that support city residents, workers, and
visitors. As such, the TMP and other transportation
or parking-related planning efforts have made
recommendations to encourage more pedestrian
and bike activity downtown, facilitate public transit
connections and reduce car dependency in this
dense, urban zone. Within the TMP, pedestrian
safety recommendations focused on visibility
to vehicular traffic. Recommendations included
curb extensions at high volume intersections, new
crosswalks, and other pedestrian improvements to
safely move pedestrians across the street. While the
TMP did not look at Downtown in detail, many of
its recommendations are reflected in this plan.
84 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 85 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
VEHICULAR DEMAND DOWNTOWN
IS LEVEL AND PRIME FOR MORE
TRANSPORTATION CHOICES
The Montana Department of Transportation
records vehicle traffic annually for Main,
Mendenhall and Babcock Streets. Even though
Bozeman is experiencing sustained growth and
attracting more people Downtown, vehicular traffic
on Downtown streets has not increased in thirty
years. All three streets have the same traffic levels
today as they did in the late 1980s through the early
2000s, although Bozeman’s growth rate outpaced
previous decades. This is an important finding for
the long term vibrancy of Downtown streets. Even
with a wave of new investment in development and
population growth, there is not a need for wider
roads to support more cars. Instead, in order to
sustain and promote further investment, efforts
should be made to support alternate modes of
transportation.
Bozeman is already well on its way towards
becoming a multi-modal transportation hub based
on the following important successes:
Low Commute Times
Statewide, the average daily
commute time in Montana is
about 18 minutes. In Bozeman,
the average commute time is
significantly different, with the
average commuter spending 14.6
minutes traveling between work
and home.
Large Ratio of Bike and
Pedestrian Commuters
Investing in sidewalks, streets
and alleys will not only grow
these alternative modes of
transportation but also encourage
economic development and
strengthen retail Downtown.
Growth in Streamline
Ridership
The Streamline Bus is Bozeman’s
public transportation service,
run by HRDC. The Streamline
provides both local and regional
bus routes that connect to
Downtown, Midtown, Four
Corners and Gallatin Gateway,
among others. Since the bus
service’s inception in 2001, the
Streamline has grown in ridership
to over 300,000 people per year.
Community Desire to
Reduce Car Dependence
In public meetings and online
surveys, the public expressed
interest in more infrastructure
to increase bicycling, public
transportation ridership, and
pedestrian activity throughout
Downtown.
60%+
Percent of people surveyed who think Downtown is increasingly walkable.
In Bozeman, 15% of commuters walk or bike to their destinations compared to 6% statewide.
Seven percent annual growth in Streamline ridership since 2007
Bozeman’s average commute time is 3.4 minutes lower than Montana.
BARRIERS TO BICYCLING TODAY
The level and speed of vehicular traffic on Main
Street and various demands on Downtown Streets
are currently barriers to permanent, dedicated bike
infrastructure. Similarly, on Mendenhall Street,
parking would need to be removed on narrow right
of ways to allow for dedicated bike travel. In order
to provide bike infrastructure Downtown, the
TMP recommends a two-way separated bike lane -
often known as a “cycle-track” - on Babcock that
removes parking on the north side of the street.
Ongoing Improvements
Downtown Bozeman’s transportation systems are
constantly changing and upgrading to meet the
demands of a more mobile audience. Outdated
infrastructure is being modernized across the
city, taking advantage of construction to address
deferred maintenance of underground systems.
The Rouse Avenue project (completion estimated
for 2020) from Mendenhall Street to Story Mill
Road is one example of movement toward more
multi-functional streets; the project includes road
widening to support turning lanes, bike paths,
sidewalks and stormwater landscapes as well as
water and sewer system improvements.
Among the Downtown’s recent biking
accomplishments, in 2016 a signalized pedestrian
crossing was installed at Main Street and
Broadway Avenue and four seasonal bike stalls are
installed annually to encourage biking during the
summer season. Limited bike sharrows were also
incorporated into vehicle lanes on Mendenhall to
encourage safe bike travel off of Main Street.
You told us that
Downtown can do more
to be welcoming to bikes
and pedestrians.
“Congestion
is a sign of
vibrancy.”
“Turning left is dicey with
traffic and pedestrians.”
“I tend to drive
more than bike because I feel it
is safer.”
“I wish
Mendenhall had
more trees and
was less noisy.”
“Mostly I walk.
Crossing Babcock
& Mendenhall is
often challenging.”
A sample of community comments about transportation during the planning process.
86 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 87 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
MAIN
S
T
MENDE
N
H
A
L
L
S
T
BABC
O
C
K
S
T
Strengthen Connectivity
The TMP indicates that future growth is anticipated
to add approximately 48,258 jobs to Gallatin
County, with growth within Bozeman’s current
urban growth boundary accounting for almost 63%
of the County’s projected growth.
To maintain the number of vehicle trips at the
current level and expand the bike, transit and
pedestrian mode share, programs need to be
developed and infrastructure updates made to
make the Streamline, bicycling and walking more
attractive options. The majority of participants in
public meetings and in online surveys think that
Downtown streets are pleasant and walkable, but
less than ten percent of survey responses believe
Downtown is safe for bikes. This plan identifies
many ways to advocate for stronger pedestrian and
bike awareness and create safe spaces to co-exist
with cars.
DOWNTOWN MOBILITY GOALS
Effective management of streets, sidewalks and
alleys is key in providing for the needs of residents
and businesses Downtown. The following mobility
goals reinforce management best practices for
balanced mobility:
• Prioritize people in all transportation related
decisions.
• Calm traffic for safer walking, biking and
driving.
• Create east-west bike connections.
• Let all streets work together as a system.
• Minimize net loss of on-street parking.
• Link new bike lanes into the existing network.
Bike lane or improved sharrow
Area covered by a 5 minute walkshed
Street with proposed changes for cars or bikes
Bi-directional cycle track
Legend
Note: map shows existing conditions, not future redevelopment
5 MINUTE WALK RADIUS FROM DOWNTOWN
BOZEMAN CREEK
STORY DITCH ROUSE AVEBLACK AVE“Lowly, unpurposeful and random as
they may appear, sidewalk contacts are the small change from which a city’s wealth of public life may grow.”
— Jane Jacobs
10 MINUTE BIKE SHED FROM DOWNTOWN
88 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 89 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
REDUCE SPEEDS
Downtown should be a
destination, not just a conduit.
Slower driving speeds result in
increased safety for everyone
downtown and are particularly
important when introducing new
bike facilities. Speeds of below 20
miles per hour are desirable for
streets with shared bike facilities.
Downtown should make efforts -
both physical changes and policy
advocacy - to limit high speed
movement through its streets.1
Reducing lane widths slightly on east-west streets
like Mendenhall and Babcock can discourage
drivers from operating their cars at high speeds and
expand the buffer between moving cars, parked
cars, and bikes. Street trees and pedestrian-scaled
lighting are proven to help calm traffic. Other ways
to reduce car speeds include speed humps or street
tables, which are raised street areas that slow down
traffic and often used to increase awareness of
pedestrian crossings.
The City should review current designated street
speeds and consider the ideal maximum target
speeds against posted speed limits, considering the
role of MDT designated routes as well.
ENHANCE CROSSINGS
Exclusive pedestrian crossing intervals at
major intersections, also known as a pedestrian
“scramble,” temporarily stop all vehicular traffic
1 583 responses were gathered from an online
survey about multi-modal access.
Create Safer Streets
Every street or alley in Downtown needs to be
designed to be safe for the needs of pedestrians
first. The following recommendations focus on
methods to improve Downtown for pedestrians,
and enhance the experience for everyone.
EXTEND STREETSCAPE
IMPROVEMENTS
On streets like Babcock and Mendenhall, the
plan proposes public realm improvements that
create safe and attractive sidewalk experiences.
Green infrastructure projects, like the multi-
phase streetscape project on North 7th Avenue,
make corridors more welcoming and mitigate the
impacts of climate change by diverting stormwater
pollutants from the East Gallatin River, absorbing
carbon, and reducing the heat island effect, which
is caused by the increased use of heat absorbing
surfaces in cities. Key elements of safe streetscapes
include appropriately-scaled lighting, clear signage
and wayfinding, street trees and stormwater
landscapes, and well-maintained, wide sidewalks.
Downtown should continue to take advantage of
programs like the Streetscape Assistance Program
which helps to defray the costs of installing new
streetscapes, on all east-west connectors and side
streets.
Downtown has already added 42 new street trees
and 57 new lamps to pedestrian-trafficked streets,
but gaps in street trees and lighting still exist.
Where there are still gaps, street trees should be
planted to provide shade, reduce heat island effect
and simultaneously reduce the visual scale of the
street to in turn reduce the speed of cars. Chapter
4. More than Main Street discusses how these
improvements are beneficial to retail as well.
THINK DOWNTOWN’S STREETS ARE PLEASANT AND WALKABLE, BUT...
60%+
<10% THINK THEY ARE SAFE AND ACCESSIBLE FOR BIKES!
and let pedestrians cross in all directions, including
diagonally. This method, which prioritizes the flow
of pedestrians over cars, should be studied for
major pedestrian crossings along Main Street.
With its central location and existing bike
infrastructure, Black Avenue is a great pilot site
to test a “scramble.” The City should also explore
the feasibility of additional signals at Black
Avenue with Mendenhall and Babcock Streets.
Currently, traffic on Mendenhall and Babcock flows
uninterrupted through Downtown. Additional
signals would reduce speeds for safer vehicular
travel and pedestrian crossings.
CONNECT VISITORS WITH AMENITIES
Wayfinding, education and signage
A gateway to outdoor sports and Yellowstone
National Park, Bozeman hosts hundreds of
thousands of visitors every year. Still, the City has
not yet embarked on a community-wide wayfinding
program to help move out-of-town visitors to
important city destinations, districts, and parking.
Downtown has taken steps to better connect
visitors to businesses through a comprehensive
branding strategy and outdoor kiosks and maps
to direct people to where they need to go.
Comprehensive installation of the wayfinding
strategy would strengthen the brand and better
connect people to other parts of the City. Signage
can also encompass education about safety,
including information about safely sharing streets
among different users and navigating new amenities
like back-in angled parking.
Add flexibility for the Engineering Department to
look at site-specific details when evaluating safety
requirements of street vision triangles. Refer to
Appendix page 9 for more information.
(Use the existing code language that allows
Engineering this same kind of flexibility for drive
accesses as a template.)
Safety is essential but Downtowns have unique
circumstances that warrant a more case-by-case
evaluation rather than a one size fits all rule.
CODE CORNER
90 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 91 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
Redesign Main Street for
Better Mobility and Use
Main Street is a workhorse for Downtown, but
as the city grows, it cannot continue to do all
the heavy lifting. Instead, all Downtown streets
should be reconsidered together so they work as a
network, creating a balanced approach.
ADAPT TO THREE LANES WITH
EXPANDED PARKING
Today: Main Street is currently a four lane street
with parallel parking on either side within the
Downtown study area. During a typical snow
event in Bozeman, plows push excess snow to the
center, constricting traffic and reducing safety. The
function of Main Street is compromised by the
decreased lane function and reinforces an approach
to redesigning Main Street to make it more
efficient for moving traffic and encourage more
opportunities for people to park and visit retail and
restaurants Downtown.
Opportunity: Main Street should be reconfigured
to three traffic lanes total: one lane in each
direction with a continuous central turn lane.
Removal of one lane in each direction will create
space to convert existing parallel parking to back-
in, angled vehicle parking, increasing the parking
capacity of Main Street by approximately 100
or more spaces. The central turn lane will also
double as snow storage in the winter months while
providing ample left turn capacity. Conversion to
a three-lane configuration will not significantly
reduce roadway capacity compared to the current
four-lane configuration; this can be confirmed by
an engineering study.
Design of these systems will require MDT
participation and approvals, but there are several
successful examples across the state and region.
Additional engineering analysis must be undertaken
to confirm feasibility and determine exact lane
widths and configuration. For example, wider
parking stalls may be needed to accommodate the
range of vehicles common to Bozeman. If wider
areas are needed, an asymmetric street section may
be possible, with parallel parking to remain on one
side and angled parking on the other. Ultimately,
many variations on widths are possible that will
improve left turns, support pedestrian safety, and
increase on-street parking.
TRUCK ROUTE OPTIONS
Not only is Downtown one of the most vibrant
areas in the city, it is also a major regional corridor.
Every weekday, about 36 trucks travel along Main
Street; of those vehicles, about 39% are through
traffic. The 1995 Downtown Urban Renewal Plan,
1998 and 2009 Downtown Improvement Plans,
2015 Downtown Truck Traffic Study, and 2017
TMP all identified alternative truck routes to reduce
the impacts of large through truck traffic on Main
Street’s retail corridor. According to the Downtown
Truck Traffic Study, the preferred alternative truck
route for through-truck traffic is an I-90 and Jack
Rabbit Lane bypass. As Main Street is converted
from four lanes to three lanes, this preferred
alternative should also be advanced.
Still, many large trucks will continue to use Main
Street to transport and deliver goods to businesses
and residences Downtown. To reduce truck traffic
during peak business hours, businesses should
limit deliveries and pick-ups to early mornings or
overnight.
15’
Angled Parking(@ 45°)
~15’15’11’9.5’11’~15’
POTENTIAL FOR 120 MORE PARKING SPACES WITH ANGLED SPACES
NARROWED ROAD IMPROVES PEDESTRIAN CROSSINGS
15’
TURNING LANE IMPROVES TRAFFIC FLOW & CREATES SPACE FOR SNOW STORAGE
Opportunity: Convert to 3 Lanes with Back-in
Angled Parking
~15’8’11.5’11.5’11.5’11.5’8’~15’
Center used for stock-piling snow during the winter
COMMUNITY REPORTS CHALLENGES WITH LEFT-TURNS
MAIN STREET (STATE HIGHWAY)
`Existing Street Character
Exact widths will be determined through further study of street widths and appropriate lane dimensions.
92 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 93 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
Expand Downtown Biking
In the last few years, Bozeman has made major
improvements to its bicycle infrastructure. During
the public outreach for this plan, the community
continuously expressed the desire for more bike
lanes, safer routes, and improved facilities such as
covered storage.
Recently, Downtown installed seasonal bike stalls
to encourage biking during the spring, summer and
fall seasons and to manage a growing wave of bikes
with need for parking facilities. The Bridger Park
Downtown Garage also includes bike facilities for
commuters.
Building on these successes, the plan proposes
broadening the bike network with facilities and
infrastructure that safely connect Downtown to
Montana State University, Midtown, the Cannery,
and an existing regional multi-use trail system.
With Main Street
converted to three-
lanes to improve traffic,
parking and pedestrian
flow, Mendenhall and
Babcock are key streets
for prioritizing biking.
ADAPT BABCOCK AND MENDENHALL
TO ENCOURAGE BIKING
Babcock and Mendenhall Streets are currently one
way, two lane roads that create a one way couplet
parallel to Main Street. While the road widths vary
block to block, the two drive lanes are wide enough
to create faster speeds than the roads were designed
for, and unsafe conditions for pedestrians and
bicyclists.
MENDENHALL STREET
Today: Vehicle oriented, with bike
route markings
~8’8’12’12’8’~8’
WIDE TRAFFIC LANESSHARROWS IN 2 LANES CREATES CONFUSION
Opportunity: Make Sharrow Safer
~8’9’11’11’9’~8’
DEFINITIVELY MARK BIKE ZONE IN ONE LANE
NARROW DRIVE LANES SLIGHTLY FOR TRAFFIC CALMING; WIDEN PARKING ZONE FOR GREATER DISTANCE
TRAFFIC CALMING TO REDUCE BIKE/VEHICLE CONFLICTS
EXPLORE ADDITIONAL SIGNAL AT BLACK OR OTHER DOWNTOWN INTERSECTION
STREET TREES TO BRING A HUMAN SCALE TO THE STREET
Exact widths will be determined through further study of street widths and appropriate lane dimensions.
94 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 95 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
Mendenhall: Mendenhall’s existing sharrows
should be taken to the next level, with
enhancements that make them safer and more
attractive to bikers. Currently, the sharrows are
marked in both lanes. The sharrow should be
limited to the lane interior to Main Street to
reduce confusion for bicyclists and reduce bike-
vehicle conflicts when making left hand turns. The
sharrows should be painted and marked clearly as
a dedicated space, properly offset from the parking
lane. Vehicular lanes can be reduced from 12’ lane
widths to 11’ lane widths, creating more space
to buffer the sharrow from parallel parking and
reducing car speeds.
Babcock: According to the 2017 TMP, Babcock
Street is consistently wide enough through
Downtown to support a separated two-way
bikeway. The cycle track, or bi-directional bike lane,
requires removal of one lane of parking on the
north side of Babcock, which can be offset with
the additional spaces provided by Main Street’s
angled parking. Babcock’s dedicated bike lanes will
signal strong support of the biking community.
This type of project is often first tested as a
temporary improvement that can be installed with
low investment materials like construction cones
and signage. This “pilot” lets the project design
be tested first and adjusted if necessary in full
implementation. If successful, Mendenhall can be
transitioned to a dedicated lane as a next step.
FILL IN BICYCLE NETWORK GAPS
Eighth Avenue is one of only a handful of
dedicated bike lanes in Bozeman. It connects Main
Street and the edge of MSU’s campus, but does
not connect across Main Street to the north side
of Downtown. Although the study area does not
extend to 8th Avenue, street upgrades to Babcock
and Mendenhall need to extend to 8th and 11th
Avenues respectfully to provides connection to the
High School at 11th and Mendenhall and promote
bicycling between MSU and Downtown.
Similarly, Bozeman Health has several shared use
path connections between the health complex and
Downtown streets. The plan proposes partnering
with Bozeman Health to provide appropriate
lighting, wayfinding, signage and bike facilities to
reduce car trips between Downtown and the health
campus.
Urban One-Way Streets
Conversion of Mendenhall and Babcock from
one-way to two-way streets was studied and
discussed with property owners, business owners
and community members. However, the priority
at this time is to optimize current traffic patterns,
introduce new multi-modal facilities, and use
redevelopment and street improvements to create
great urban streets with the one-way couplet. In the
future, two-way conversion remains an option.
WASHINGTON, DC
BABCOCK STREET
Today: Vehicle oriented
Varies 8’ - 15’8’12-16’12-16’8’8’ - 15’
WIDE TRAVEL LANES
Varies 8’ - 15’8’11’11’6’6’8’ - 15’
SEPARATED BI-DIRECTIONAL BIKEWAY
BABCOCK STREET
Opportunity: 2-way cycle track
NARROW DRIVE LANES SLIGHTLY FOR TRAFFIC CALMING; REMOVE PARKING ON NORTH SIDE
EXPLORE ADDITIONAL SIGNAL AT BLACK OR OTHER DOWNTOWN INTERSECTION
STREET TREES TO BRING A HUMAN SCALE TO THE STREET
Exact widths will be determined through further study of street widths and appropriate lane dimensions.
96 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 97 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
Walkable & Accessible
Expand transit service, access and
amenities to link downtown to
other employment, residential and
commercial districts.
As the community grows, Bozeman has the
opportunity to decide how to balance land and
funding: for cars and parking, or for housing,
jobs and people. Valuable space and dollars are
needed to create more housing, invest in growing
businesses and set aside places for outdoor play.
Downtowns across the country are grappling with
similar concerns about transportation demands and
are pushing solutions for sustainable growth that
do not rely solely on automobiles. Integrated transit
systems are a critical part of this puzzle.
Moving forward,
Bozeman should expand
public transit services
to places that link to
downtown, surrounding
neighborhoods, and other
city districts.
Leverage Streamline
for Downtown and
Surrounding Districts
Bozeman’s Streamline serves Downtown with
multiple lines and a multi-modal stop at the Bridger
Park Garage. However, new needs of growing
daytime employees and new growth patterns have
created an opportunity to tailor the routes to help
offset parking demand, lessen affordability burdens
on those who work in Downtown, link users to
parking resources, and better connect the districts
around Downtown.
CREATE A DOWNTOWN CIRCULATOR
WITH A PARK-AND-RIDE LINK
The plan proposes a new, bi-directional “circulator”
route that extends from the Gallatin County
Fairgrounds to Downtown Bozeman and links
other active commercial districts like Midtown,
the Northeast, and the Cannery. The route will
run continuously during the workweek and during
major events, when parking demand is at its
highest. Ideally, service should be provided in both
directions to minimize the travel time between
districts. Additional funding will be needed to pay
MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY
MIDTOWN
CANNERY
NORTHEAST
FAIRGROUNDS
BOZEMAN CREEKDOWNTOWN
REMOTE PARKING
GROWING
NORTHWEST NEIGHBORHOODS
BOZEMAN HEALTH
for capital improvements (expansion of the fleet,
infrastructure support) and increased operations.
Funding from multiple public partners as well
as public-private partnerships can support this
enhanced service.
The Downtown Circulator shuttle has the
additional opportunity to connect users to two
important parking resources: the existing Bridger
Park Downtown Garage and the potential for a
future park-and-ride lot that could be developed
at the Fairgrounds. With such a central location,
the Gallatin County Fairgrounds can be used as a
park and ride lot for employees of Downtown, the
Cannery or Midtown, for those who wish to park
for longer than 2 hours, and others worried about
parking Downtown. During event times, a direct
Downtown to Fairground express link could run.
98 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 99 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
STRENGTHEN CONNECTIONS TO
ANCHORS
Montana State University (MSU), Bozeman Health
and quickly growing technology companies top the
list of the largest employers in Bozeman. Many
of these institutions and employers are also just
within a 15-minute walk of Downtown, but do not
have safe, accessible connections, besides driving.
In addition to the northern circulator route, more
efficient Streamline routes and bike lanes should
be explored that link Downtown to employment
destinations.
PROVIDE A MIX OF TRANSIT OPTIONS
There is a strong desire from the public to make
public and alternative transportation appealing to
all incomes. Over half of the participants who
took the “Imagine a more Inclusive Downtown1”
survey believe the best strategy to link housing and
transit to Downtown will be through a Streamline
1 Based on 409 responses to an online survey,
open summer and fall, 2018.
service that is safe and accessible to the public.
Car ownership is estimated to cost about $8,500
a year on average. Providing multi-modal options
to remove this cost burden is an important factor
to make Downtown more accessible and reduce
congestion on streets.
Plan for the Future
Mobility is one of the fastest changing
technologies. Electric vehicles are increasing in
popularity, shared scooters and bikes are taking
over cities across the country, and rideshare
services are changing the way people use cars. All
of these trends will impact Downtown Bozeman
and have important implications for the physical
environment.
By embracing and planning proactively for these
mobility innovations, Downtown Bozeman
can reinforce its commitment to providing
transportation choices. Recommendations that are
appropriate for Downtown Bozeman are:
160,000 electric
cars were sold in
the United States
in 2016.
One shared car can take four private vehicles off the street through vehicle shedding
24% of American 16 year-olds have a license, 47% less than 1983
35 million bike share trips were taken in 2017, 25% more than in 2016
EV charging stations
Downtown should work with local
energy providers to install pilot
EV charging stations in several
locations Downtown, close to
shops and restaurants. Successful
pilots have been launched in
Tarpon Springs, Florida and
Beacon, New York.
Ride Share Infrastructure
Downtown should establish
designated ride share pick-up/
drop-off zones in convenient
sites on Main Street, to reduce
congestion and improve safety.
Public Car Share
Public car shares can be great
substitutes for private vehicles
and can complement public
transportation shortfalls.
Downtown should work with
companies like Zip Car to improve
mobility access of its carless
residents.
Bike Share
Downtown should partner
with MSU and the City of
Bozeman to introduce a
coordinated bike share program
pilot that connects students to
Downtown.
BIKESHARE USERS IN DOWNTOWN EL PASO, TEXAS KERB CHARING STATIONS IN THE CANNERY
100 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 101 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
6
Welcoming
to Everyone
Foster a place that is welcoming and
inclusive of all ages, incomes, abilities,
and backgrounds with a mix of uses and
accessible places.
Design new buildings for sustainability,
durability and design excellence.
102 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 103 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
A Citywide Demand for
More Housing
According to a market analysis conducted by
Economic & Planning Systems, Inc., the City of
Bozeman will require approximately 12,700 units
by 2045. The following list identifies the amount of
each type of unit to meet future need.
WHAT SHAPE WILL DOWNTOWN
RESIDENTIAL GROWTH TAKE?
Excluding single household detached residential
uses, Bozeman is projected to construct 8,278
attached residential units. For Downtown, this
will amount to a range of 400 to 800 units
that are projected to be developed by 2045.
Recent Downtown projects have been midrise
developments like the 18 unit Block M, the 12 unit
NEBO, the 17 unit Willson, and the proposed
16 unit Southside Lofts. Downtown housing is
likely to continue this type of development, but
may also include 50+ unit multifamily projects or
townhomes and 2-4 unit buildings.
Downtown will be welcoming and
inclusive of all ages, incomes,
abilities, and backgrounds with a
mix of uses and accessible places.
TIME Magazine once referred to Bozeman as, “A
paradise for outdoor enthusiasts and tech nerds
alike.” The city consistently tops the lists of the
“best cities to live in” and earns tributes for a
high quality of life which contribute to the city’s
nonstop growth and burgeoning technology sector.
These accolades are both a boon and a challenge
for the community, and for Downtown.
As the Downtown becomes more popular,
policies for new development and neighborhood
preservation will need to be balanced to ensure that
Downtown maintains a mix of owned and rented
units with a variety of sizes, types, and prices;
allows for innovation; and does not unnecessarily
displace those who have lived there. Also,
investments must be made in the infrastructure
that alleviates added demand on city systems and
to improve services for current residents, connect
new and current residents to improved, alternative
transportation offerings, and facilitate creative
partnerships. Focusing on investments that go
beyond public infrastructure will ensure Downtown
is welcoming and inclusive for everyone.
Welcoming to Everyone
Townhomes (Attached)
Duplex (2 Units)
Triplex/Fourplex (3-4 units)
Multi-family
Downtown’s projected 400-800 units will
likely include a range of housing types.
URBAN HOUSING, PORTLAND, OR
URBAN HOUSING, MADISON, WI URBAN HOUSING, MADISON, WI
104 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 105 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
Welcoming to Everyone
Improve Housing
Diversity and Access
Since the 2009 Downtown Bozeman Improvement
Plan, 97 new housing units have been built
Downtown, 48 housing units are currently under
construction, and 275 housing units have been
approved for construction or proposed. Still,
Downtown living is unachievable for much of
Bozeman’s workforce. Like the broader community,
average home prices for new development
in Downtown continue to increase and are
no longer accessible to the average Bozeman
resident. Similarly, Bozeman has extremely low
rental vacancy rates city-wide, but especially for
Downtown.
Bozeman is currently engaged in a Community
Housing Needs Assessment which will provide
much needed essential data. However, we already
know that nearly half the new jobs created in
Bozeman between 2010 and 2016 paid less than
$16 per hour or $34,000 annually. Bozeman is
a young community and, according to the EPS
report, demand for affordable housing is increasing,
especially among residents ages 18 to 34-years old.
DON’T CONSTRICT SUPPLY
With a tight housing market, two of the most
important things that can be done to provide more
accessible housing are 1) to not constrict supply
and 2) to encourage density that allows for a variety
of housing types, sizes and rents.
Promote a range of housing options
Downtown can’t follow a one-size-fits-most
approach to providing housing. As more housing
is built, care should be given to promoting
housing types that meet the needs of different
members of the community, including units of
all sizes and rental opportunities. Cities across the
country are striving for a range of housing, which
acknowledges the many dimensions of need in
each community and seeks to provide housing in
the form of rentals, senior housing, workforce/
employee housing and home ownership.
The City and the Partnership can actively work
with developers to construct multi-family for rent
housing projects. For example, the Downtown
Partnership could retool the Residential “Incentive
Program” which helps with impact fees to only
apply to studios and one bedrooms units or to any
project that has long-term affordability controls.
Likewise, they can help facilitate coordination
among businesses and developers to share ideas
about what is needed for employee housing. Finally,
as it is developed, Downtown should continue to
engage with the recommendations of forthcoming
Affordable Housing Action Plan (planned for 2019)
for additional ideas.
Besides the City, the Human Resource
Development Council (HRDC) is another
important partner in addressing accessible housing
and other inclusivity initiatives Downtown1.
Link housing to transportation choices
It is especially important to provide a range of
housing options in denser areas like Downtown,
and provide residents access to alternative forms
of transportation, like the Streamline and proposed
bike facilities, and reduce the costly reliance on
cars. The total costs of owning a car are expensive.
AAA currently estimates that car ownership costs
approximately $8,500 a year to cover costs of the
vehicle, insurance, fuel and maintenance. Removing
1 https://thehrdc.org/how-we-help/housing/
this cost effectively increases a person’s income and
gives them greater housing choice.
It is important to determine the type of workforce
housing required and if supportive services are
necessary to serve the population in need.
Potential ways to tie housing and transportation
options together include:
• Consider creative ways that parking
enterprise may be able to fund multi-modal
services, such as transit or biking expansion.
• Reserve some capacity for long-term
affordable housing in new public parking
facilities. Look at ways that new structured
parking can partner with affordable projects
or housing providers to help offset this cost.
• Support faster and easier transit connections
to North 7th and the Cannery District to
better connect housing and employment
options, such as the proposed Downtown
Circulator.
STAPLETON NEIGHBORHOOD, DENVER, CO
106 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 107 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
TAILOR CODE AND POLICIES TO
SUPPORT HOUSING GOALS
Recalibrate Downtown parking code
Bozeman is surrounded by exceptional natural
amenities and most households desire at least
one vehicle. While automobile use will continue,
there are ways to make it possible, particularly in
a downtown environment to create future lifestyle
patterns that require fewer vehicles.
The B3 parking code should be adjusted to
align parking requirements with goals to provide
smaller, more affordable units, without eliminating
the expectation of parking as part of residential
projects. Currently, all residences in the Downtown
are required to provide one parking space per unit
ACTIVE
G
R
O
U
N
D
F
L
O
O
R
W
A
N
T
E
D
!
LOBBIES
OFFICES/WORKSPACE
COURTYARDS
RESIDENTIAL (WITH
APPROPRIATE
DESIGN)RETAIL/DINING
MAKER SPACES
regardless of the number of bedrooms in the unit.
To increase the overall supply and to promote
more affordable studio and one bedroom units, it
is recommended to tie the parking to number of
bedrooms. Studios and one-bedroom units should
have a parking requirement of less than one.
Adjust code to promote smaller units and
enable more diverse supply
There are many ways to increase housing supply,
but creating a range of housing options is central
to improving access for everyone. The following
strategies identify advocacy and policy changes to
support smaller, more diverse units Downtown:
• Build on and expand the city’s recent code
changes that allow Accessory Dwelling Units.
• Get the word out! Building on MSU’s work,
help to communicate information about ADUs,
their purpose, development opportunities and
any restrictions to property owners.
• Promote creative mixed use projects like Block
M, in which row houses and townhouses
include garden/basement units that provide
flexible rental income or live/work office space.
• Allow height bonuses (in areas that are not in
transition areas) if a percentage of additional
units are designated to meet affordable criteria
for an established time period.
• Clarify that storefront designated properties
outside of the “core area” can have ground
level units. Do not mandate (but certainly allow
and encourage) ground-floor retail on multi-
family projects as the use can inflate costs and
risks if the site is in a weak location for retail.
PRESERVE EXISTING HOUSING
Older housing stock that has not undergone
significant renovations or addressed minor issues
of deferred maintenance typically ask much
lower rents than comparable new construction
apartments, even without needing to rely on
government subsidies. However, as development
pressures grow and rents increase with market
demand, this older existing housing stock is often
targeted for demolition or major renovations that
result in raised rental prices.
Active steps and advocacy should be taken to
preserve the existing stock of multi-family rental
buildings, while still encouraging or creating
incentives, partnerships and grant programs
Replace the current downtown parking standard
of 1 space per dwelling unit with a new factor
designed to promote smaller units:
• Studio unit – 0.5 spaces
• 1 bedroom unit - 0.75 spaces
• 2 bedroom unit – 1 space
• 3 bedroom unit – 1.5 spaces
Increase use flexibility to activate ground levels
of apartment buildings and condominiums.
Refer to Appendix page 8 and page 10 for more
information.
Coordinate with the future Affordable Housing
Action Plan to explore eliminating or reducing the
parkland requirement in B-3 for units that will have
long-term affordable restrictions in place. While
residents living in affordable units and market
units equally deserve access to great parks,
affordable infill projects Downtown are different
from other newer parts of town. Downtown is
already within walking distance of seven parks,
totaling nearly 75 acres. Refer to Appendix page 9
for more information.
Continue to work with the Engineering
Department on width standards to adequately
address utilities on very narrow lots. Refer to
Appendix page 9 for more information.
Work with the Building Division to establish a new
definition in the code for “vertical duplexes” to
allow townhome projects to include garden-level
accessory apartments. Refer to Appendix page 14
for more information.
Continue to support the City and MSU’s efforts to
promote more Accessory Dwelling Units. Refer to
Appendix page 11 for more information.
CODE CORNER
that allow for life/safety upgrades. Likewise, the
Boulevard Apartments are downtown’s only Section
8 voucher affordable housing, a choice that is
important to preserve going forward.
108 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 109 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
Growing in Place
As Downtown continues to evolve, growth
and preservation need to be carefully balanced.
Downtown zoning is designated as “Downtown
district (downtown B-3),” which encourages
density, a mix of uses, a pedestrian-oriented
environment, and urban building forms. The
B-3 code also notes that “reinforcing the area’s
historical pedestrian-oriented context are very
important.” While these goals are in line with
DBIP principles, downtowns like Bozeman have
unique development histories that can lead to
some inconsistencies among regulations, use, and
scale. Varied patterns, streetscapes, and massing are
common, valuable elements of all urban settings,
and it is important to both encourage variety and
balance it with clarity and predictability.
To the extent possible, the DBIP seeks to
resolve conflicts in planning and zoning, clarify
height limits, reduce overlapping regulations,
and strengthen the ability of zoning and design
standards to ensure sensitive transitions between
buildings of different scales. Any changes
suggested in the DBIP will need to be refined for
integration into the UDC.
Inconsistencies can lead
to greater challenges
and uncertainty during
redevelopment for
residents, city staff, and
developers.
LAND USE AND ZONING ALIGNMENT
The Downtown B-3 district is primarily surrounded
by residentially zoned neighborhoods as well as
anchored by less intense commercial zoning on the
east and west ends. It is important that the zoning
regulations and land use projections designated
in the community plan are aligned so that future
development or change is predictable, objective,
and coordinated.
Adjust the B-3 District Boundary to
Eliminate Land Use and Scale Conflicts
For the most part, the Downtown B-3 zoning
boundary contains designated community core
or public institutional land uses, consistent with
Downtown’s mixed use and civic setting. Lower
Design new buildings
for sustainability,
durability and design
excellence.
Welcoming to Everyone
density residential uses exist in the residential
districts surrounding the B-3 zone. However, along
the perimeter, there are a few locations where land
uses and zoning designations are in conflict. The
map above points out key areas of conflict:
• Three sites where a small amount of
commercial core land uses extend beyond the
B-3 zone (A, B, C);
• Three sites where there are future residential
land uses that are zoned as B-3 (D, E, F); and
• Three sites where community commercial
mixed use future land uses either extends
within the B-3 area (G, H) or is adjacent and
incompatible with existing zoning (I).
• Several areas where the B-3 zoning changes to
R-2/4 within the same block, rather than across
a street or alley, creating greater sensitivity for
development on adjacent parcels (indicated by
dashed lines on map).
Each of these areas should be addressed through
careful study and strategic relocation of the B-3
boundary line. Care should be taken to keep
the changes to the boundary as minimal as
possible so that they maintain and reinforce
the existing downtown and neighborhood
areas on either side. Fundamentally, the
Downtown district should not be reduced in
area. Likewise, this recommendation is also
not intended to meaningfully expand the
district. Rather, the hope is that minor boundary
adjustments will address potential land use conflicts
and reduce the potential for future challenges.
A
C
D E F
G H
I
B
DOWNTOWN CORE AREA
IMAGE OF CURRENT ZONING, BASED ON CITY OF BOZEMAN DATA
110 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 111 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
DEFINE DOWNTOWN’S DISTINCT
DESIGN CHARACTER
Downtown is currently part of a large overlay
district, the Neighborhood Conservation Overlay
District (NCOD). The NCOD’s purpose is to
“stimulate the restoration and rehabilitation of
structures, and all other elements contributing to
the character and fabric of established residential
neighborhoods and commercial or industrial areas.”
The NCOD is a useful tool to guide historic
preservation goals, but it is important to recognize
the distinct differences between Downtown and
the adjacent residential neighborhoods included
in the district. Downtown (including the entire B3
District) needs to be recognized within the NCOD
as a distinct and independent ‘neighborhood’ with
its own set of design guidelines. Alternatively,
Downtown could explore creating its own separate
overlay district.
Acknowledging the complexity of urban
development, projects in Downtown should be
encouraged to create high quality design that is
responsive to its unique site, use, and the historic
context. To promote this, more code flexibility can
be added Downtown for design merit in existing
and new buildings (which may include departures,
deviations, or relaxations).
Create Downtown Design Guidelines
Design guidelines can be a helpful guidepost related
to site, mass, form, materials, and quality. In some
peripheral areas, they contribute to creating the
right transition between urban core and residential
architectural styles.
Article 5 of the UDC applies city-wide; yet,
some distinctions are needed for Downtown’s
unique needs and merit adopting a specific set
of Downtown Design Guidelines. Likewise,
Downtown guidelines should incorporate the
foundational elements of Chapter 4B in the
current NCOD guidelines. A comprehensive
design guidelines package can include urban design,
architectural, and landscape/streetscape design
guidelines. Periodically, they should be revisited
so that building design guidelines ensure that new
construction fits in with the rhythm and scale of
Downtown’s unique, evolving streetscape.
The Downtown Design Guidelines should
address design elements, issues, and aspirations
that are not already informed by the B-3 zoning
provisions and UDC Article 5. They can include
historic preservation considerations for the Main
Street Historic District and designated historically
significant buildings. Ultimately, they can replace
Chapter 4B in the existing NCOD guidelines.
This recommendation echoes sentiments from the
earlier 2015 NCOD report which recommended
that Downtown should be a separate overlay
district with its own specific design guidelines.
Overall code changes to implement these ideas
are dependent on the desired course of action
and will be determined at a later date.
Re-evaluate and potentially expand the general
categories in Section 38.340 of the code (height,
proportions, scale, etc.) and ensure that new
design guidelines clearly supplement and clarify
these general categories specific to Downtown.
Refer to Appendix page 16 for more information.
Explore ways to add more code flexibility
Downtown for existing and new buildings
(departures, deviations, relaxations, etc.). Refer to
Appendix page 16 for more information.
CODE CORNER
112 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 113 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
ALIGN HEIGHT WITH EXISTING ZONING
AND COMMUNITY PLAN
Currently, building heights Downtown are limited
by the B-3 zoning district to a maximum of 55 feet
in the “Core Area” (defined as Main Street and
one half block north and south to the alleys from
Grand Avenue to Rouse Avenue) and 70 feet in the
rest of the B-3 zone. Recently codified transition
language further limits the height of buildings on
the edge of the B-3 District when they are adjacent
to some residential zoning districts.
The Downtown core area contains a mix of
buildings that range from one-story storefronts
to the seven-story Baxter Hotel and the nine-
story Armory Hotel. The diversity of building
heights across the district adds interest and visual
relief to the street, creating a rhythm of change
and variation that is an important ingredient of
dynamic downtown urban design. While height
or density minimums are not regulated, in a
downtown like Bozeman’s where affordability
and vibrancy are values, it is also important to
avoid underdevelopment. Appropriate scales of
development are essential for future projects so that
the community can meet its goals of sustainable
infill, affordability, and a dynamic street life.
Many Downtown buildings are designated as
“storefront blocks” to promote retail and frequent
entries that also add rhythm and walkability to
a street. This comes with a requirement for a
minimum height of 13 feet for the first floor,
to add flexibility to all buildings in this zone to
accommodate public uses like retail or lobbies.
Improved diagram better illustrating current transition code requirements.
The Community Plan
update proposes that
the Bozeman will have
a diverse skyline with
buildings that range from
three- to seven-stories.
Today’s Downtown height limit of 70 feet does
not allow new buildings to reach seven stories
due to the needed floor-to-floor heights for
urban development, active ground floors, and
contemporary building practices. Some buildings
surpass this limit, like the historic Baxter or the
new hotel and adaptive reuse project at the Armory
which obtained a height deviation. Seven stories
are already permitted by building conventions
in other districts across the city when certain
accommodations are made by the project.
The 2009 DBIP decreed that Downtown should
be home to buildings of the greatest height
across the city. Bozeman has evolved since that
aspiration, with many other districts carrying height
and density as well. Still, to support a lively and
vibrant Downtown for the long-term, buildings in
Downtown should continue to achieve comparable
height to other mixed use districts across the
community.
To accomplish this, the Downtown height
requirements should be considered in context
of the Community Plan’s aspirations and zoning
across the city. Downtown’s height limits should
Excerpted from the UDC; Figure 38-320-060: 45 Degree angle stepback rule for certain zone edge development
be adjusted to enable buildings of seven stories
outside of the historic core, rather than specifying
70 feet which more usually results in five-story
buildings.
For buildings with seven stories, urban design
guidelines could be put in place to shape and
break down the massing while still enabling the
density needed for a vibrant, inclusive Downtown.
For example, the floor plates on levels five
through seven can be designed to step back from
the building edge to break down the form. A
height increase to seven stories could also be an
opportunity to address long-term affordability by
incentivizing smaller units through height bonuses.
Guidelines that are specific to the B-3 zone should
build on ideas in Article 5, tailoring them to
Downtown specific issues.
114 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 115 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
Encourage a Mix of Scales
SENSITIVE TRANSITIONS
Downtown is in the unique position of needing
to both continue to promote redevelopment and
to ensure that there is a careful balance between
adjacent residential scale neighborhoods and new
Downtown projects. Density is an important
element to these projects in order to foster desired
traits like Downtown vibrancy and broader housing
affordability. Still, there are concerns that future
development will be too tall, bulky or close to
residential single family homes.
Babcock and Mendenhall Streets both have many
surface lots and underutilized sites that are likely
to be developed in the coming years. As the “outer
core” of Downtown, this “halo” around Main
Street is a logical - and important - place to locate
buildings of greater height and mass, up to seven
stories. It is walkable to transit connections and
employment and away from single family housing.
However, adjacent to the surrounding residential
zones, buildings should begin to taper down and
gradually adjust downward. This is the intent of the
transition language today.
Recent revisions to the UDC included the addition
of standards requiring a more gradual transition
between new buildings and existing residential
properties. This transition language applies in
places where B-3 zoning is immediately adjacent
to residential zones. It includes provisions for new
B-3 development that require a setback from the
property line and a stepped back building form
for upper stories, supporting the needs of both
Downtown and nearby neighborhoods.
Although the B-3 zone allows for development up
to the lot line (zero lot line), new buildings within
the transition zone are required to be set back five
to ten feet (depending on the adjacent zone) and
are limited to an initial 38 feet in building height
from the property line adjacent to other zones.
From there, the building form is held to a 45
degree step-back rule for zone edge development,
up to the B-3 building height limit. Going forward
this language will be tested on actual projects
of varied size, each of which will have unique
characteristics of site and design.
The following recommendations build on the
current zoning code and offer additional ways
to balance the density, mass, design and scale of
Downtown and nearby neighborhoods in a variety
of different Downtown conditions.
Explore “Gentle” Residential Infill
North and south of Downtown, additional
scale appropriate infill housing can support the
affordability and compatibility goals of both
Downtown and nearby neighborhoods. This
might include strategic density by enabling more
accessory dwelling units, housing along alleys, small
rowhouses or stacked townhouses. Recent zoning
modifications have already moved in this direction
and should be reinforced and adjusted as needed in
the future.
In the “Core Area,” the maximum height should
be five stories with a requirement that the upper
level be stepped back at least ten feet from the
street-facing facade. Refer to Appendix page 9
for more information.
Outside of the “Core Area,” the maximum height
should be seven stories with the requirement
that the upper levels (5+) be stepped back at
least ten feet from the street-facing facade. Refer
to Appendix page 9 for more information.
The height restrictions should cross-reference
the existing zone edge transition section of the
code which will further limit height and increase
setbacks along the edge of the B3 zone. Refer to
Appendix page 9 for more information.
CODE CORNERConsider Unique Needs of Narrow or
Small Parcels
Many properties in the area are small sites where
it is not feasible to build to the full height allowed
Downtown in B-3. They could be adversely
impacted by restrictions to allowable setbacks. For
projects with overall heights of less than 38 feet
and for narrow sites, it may be beneficial to clarify
that buildings less then 38 feet can have decreased
setbacks in order to support infill on narrow lots.
For buildings on large sites that can be developed
to greater height and density, maintain the existing
five to ten feet setbacks and current step-backs.
116 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 117 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
7
Connected to
Nature and
Culture
Ensure Downtown open spaces
foster gathering, recreation, flexibility,
programming and local identity.
Highlight nature whenever possible,
strengthening amenities that are unique
to Bozeman.
118 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 119 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
MAIN
S
T
MENDE
N
H
A
L
L
S
T
BABC
O
C
K
S
T
Connected
to Nature &
Culture
Downtown Bozeman’s
evolution has always
been tied to the broader
landscape context.
The city center serves as a counterpoint and
urban mirror to the Gallatin Valley, bridging
culture and nature. Consistent with the
sustainability ethic shared by many of its
residents, the city values the health of the
natural environment and is humbled by its
responsibility to live sensitively with nature.
Downtown can and does honor this by
showcasing best practices for natural systems
(i.e. water and drainage systems, vegetation,
waste and energy). Yet, at the same time, the
city is an urban center nestled within vast public
lands, active farms and ranches. The public
realm, parks and open spaces of its core need
to also nurture and provide for the social and
cultural life of residents.
Downtown is...
EMERSONLAWN
BOZEMAN
CREEK
STORY DITCHROUSE AVE
WALLACE AVE
WILLSON AVE
P
BEALL PARK
BOGERT PARK
CREEKSIDE PARK
SOROPTIMIST PARK
LINDLEY PARK
LINEAR PARK
LANDSCAPEPRAIRIE, GARDENS & ECOLOGYF
PASSIVE RECREATIONWALKING PATHS, LAWNS & VIEWSP
SPORTSCOURTS, LINED FIELDS & FLEXIBLE FIELDSS
PROGRAM FACILITIESPAVILIONS, REC CENTERS & PERFORMANCE VENUESR
F
P
F
P
F
P
S
R
F
P
S
R
F
P
S
R
BURKE PARK (PEETS HILL)
STREETSCAPES
P
R
120 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 121 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
TODAY’S PARKS
Bozeman’s open space system is a cherished
part of the urban experience. As the
Downtown Plan contemplates its enhancement,
it is useful to consider the values expressed in
previous planning efforts. The 2009 plan led to
the development of a useful series of Guiding
Principles specifically related to the role of
Bozeman’s parks and open spaces. This plan
builds on those ideas:
• Public spaces – both large and small –
should be enhanced and made active
through programming or adjacent uses that
can animate and oversee them.
• Downtown should be the focus of civic
life, with a concentration of local, state and
federal government uses, as well as arts and
culture.
• Natural features and the surrounding
mountain setting should be highlighted
and emphasized whenever possible,
strengthening the amenities unique to the
city of Bozeman.
These serve as a strong framework from which
to evaluate the existing open spaces and how
well they are serving community need.
DOWNTOWN’S OPEN SPACES
The public realm of a healthy downtown
is made of up of three basic components -
streets, open spaces and natural systems. The
active and multi-modal street network has been
described within the Walkable and Accessible
chapter of this master plan. Here, we will focus
on the other two dimensions - the parks, plazas
and public spaces and the wild and natural
systems like mountain views and creeks. These
are the purely pedestrian places that provide for
two critical dimensions of modern urban living
- an active and engaged social life of the city
and the purposeful daily interaction with nature
in the city.
Downtown Parks
Downtown Bozeman has walking access to
seven parks. These are:
• Beall Park (2.3 acres)
• Bogert Park (7.5 acres)
• Burke Park (46.8 acres)
• Creekside Park (.2 acres)
• Linear Park / Library (1+ acres)
• Lindley Park (14.6 acres)
• Soroptimist Park (.2 acres)
While these parks provide 74+ acres of
parkland close to Downtown, the amenities
offered in each are largely passive or
programmed recreation. As downtowns receive
the great economic benefit of re-urbanization
nationally, each now also has the pressure
to provide amenities and open spaces that
lend needed social spaces to those living and
working downtown. Great public spaces in
Bozeman’s peer downtowns offer the following:
• Flexibility - Successful downtown
parks feature flexible designs that can
accommodate a range of community
activities and events.
• Identity - Great parks have memorable
identities that foster a sense of place.
• Play - Downtowns are creating more
opportunities for play to attract families and
extend stays.
These attributes are well-
aligned with the Bozeman
community’s wishes for
Downtown, according to
the outreach results gathered
during the planning process1.
Four of the five top activities
for Soroptimist Park, for
instance, focused on active and
engaging uses like gathering,
performance, play and dining.
Natural Systems
The greatest sense of connection to the city’s
natural systems comes in two forms - dramatic
views to the mountains surrounding the city
and the creeks that run directly through its core.
Mountain views are valued from Downtown
and streets and development should work in
1 447 citizens responded to the Open Space on-
line survey, available from summer to fall 2018.
82%
HOW SHOULD DOWNTOWN ENGAGE WITH BOZEMAN CREEK?
Access: Provide pedestrian access to the water and along its banks.60%
Activate: Engage the creek with adjacent development and incorporate public art.36%
Learn: Use educational signage to explain the history, ecology and hydrology of the creek.20%
Restore: Uncover buried sections of the creek and restore habitat along the banks.
PUBLIC ART (70%)
NATIVE PLANTINGS (80%)
concert to ensure they remain a tangible, visible
part of Downtown.
The waterways - Bozeman Creek and Story
Ditch - are wonderful resources that connect
residents to the timeless flow of the valley.
There are glimpses and recent improvements,
such as at Bogart Park, that enhance and
celebrate their presence. Yet, too often, these
priceless waterways are concealed, forced into
pipes underground, held at arm’s length by
fencing, walls and overgrown vegetation, and
lacking a unified identity as part of the city’s
essential natural heritage. Outreach in this
process revealed an almost universal desire for
more access - physical, visual and symbolic
- with these largely hidden and under-valued
systems.
Bozeman’s trail system is an important off-
street, non-motorized mobility element as well,
with the “Main Street to the Mountains” trail
system, which now totals over 80 miles and
passes through the east edge of Downtown
at the Library. Pedestrian improvements and
signage Downtown can highlight access to this
amenity.
122 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 123 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
Connected to Nature & Culture
Bozeman’s downtown open space system is
poised to provide a greater variety of activities
and experiences. Downtown has the open
space assets a thriving city needs, but today
many are underutilized and lacking in a clear
mission and identity. Each element should
have a clear purpose that can assist in shaping
improvements in the coming years. These are
1. To activate the most central open spaces as
social and cultural hubs,
2. To connect the more passive outer ring
parks to the downtown neighborhoods that
rely on them and
3. To revitalize the creeks and drainage
systems for improved ecological health and
community benefit.
ACTIVATING THE CORE
Two open spaces serve the diverse need for
cultural and social engagement in Downtown. The
Downtown Bozeman Association’s 35 annual free
community events, including Music on Main, Art
Walks, Christmas Stroll, Trick or Treat, and Cruisin'
on Main Car Show, need space to locate. Bogert
Park today hosts activities consistent with this
Ensure Downtown open spaces
foster gathering, recreation,
flexibility, programming and
local identity.
demand including winter-time skating and summer-
time swimming and markets. The quarter-acre
Soroptimist Park is lovely and well-tended, but its
design and programming are misaligned with the
needs of a lively downtown. Strategic changes to
this most central of open spaces will better leverage
it as a critical contributor to downtown vitality. This
section of the master plan showcases the potential
of that vision.
CONNECTING THE PARKS
The largely passive parks that exist today serve
an essential series of functions to downtown
and neighborhood living. Parks like Cooper,
Cash-in-lieu of dedicated parkland and
improvements-in-lieu of dedicated parkland are
great options that are already in the code for
urban residential infill projects.
Downtown should continue to coordinate with
the Parks Department to organize and prioritize
the projects identified in this plan so that cash-
in-lieu of dedicated parkland can be more easily
accessed as a funding source. Refer to Appendix
page 15 for more information.
CODE CORNER
Lindley and Beale Park nestle within the urban,
residential fabric near Downtown, providing
neighborhood scale uses like fitness, play and
recreation. Connections and walkability to these
assets should be strengthened and projects
that promote their identity - whether physical
strategies like signage and wayfinding or
programmatic ones like neighborhood parties
and events - can also further solidify their
mission and function.
REVITALIZING THE CREEKS
Water has the great freedom to know no
political boundary. The two drainage systems
that run through Downtown Bozeman are
exceptional resources that link diverse places,
spaces, and constituents. They create a
green and blue framework that unifies many
of the Downtown parks, providing core
habitat and wildlife migration routes. The
DBIP calls for strategic improvements to
these systems to increase ecological health,
better provide connectivity, celebrate natural
heritage and integrate urban drainage systems.
Recommendations are framed as restoration,
interpretation, and activation projects.
BEALL PARK
BOGERT PARK
< CREEKSIDE PARK
SOROPTIMIST PARK
EMERSON LAWN
LIBRARY AND SCULPTURE PARK
COOPER PARK BURKE PARK
SOFTBALL
LINDLEY PARKBOZEMAN CREEKSTORY DITCHROUSE AVEMAIN ST MAIN ST
WILLSON AVEBLACK AVEMENDENHALL ST
LAMME ST
VILLARD ST
BABCOCK ST
CONNECT TO WATERWAYS
ENHANCE THE ALLEYS
ACTIVE HUBS
ENGAGE STREETS
124 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 125 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
AN EVER-CHANGING PLACE
Downtowns like Boulder and Portland (below),
have small, but intensely active parks and plazas.
Striking the balance between Monday lunch-
goers and weekend revelers, these spaces are
community hubs, with changing activities for
all ages, abilities and interests. Soroptimist Park
should play that role for Bozeman!
Everyday
With simple changes, Soroptimist Park will
offer shaded seating that provides abundant
comfort and people watching. Children will
splash in the interactive fountain while parents
sit at cafe seating, served by vendor carts and
shaded by a large trellis. Plantings at the edges,
temporary art, and murals provide seasonal
and ever-changing visual and sensory interest.
Historic interpretive signage or murals can tell
users the story of the park and Downtown.
Small Event
During small events at the park, a simple trellis
can become a temporary stage cover. The
fountain can be turned off, allowing for more
space for movable audience seating, flexible
dance space, or unrolled yoga mats.
Large Event
For a large event, the redesigned park could
work in concert with either or both the closure
of Rouse Avenue and the temporary use of the
adjacent parking lot. The park can help grow
the footprint and impact of Downtown events,
while taking the pressure off of Main Street.
DIRECTOR’S PARK, PORTLAND, OREGON
PEARL STREET MALL, BOULDER, COLORADODIRECTORS PARK, PORTLAND, OREGON
STAGE UNDER SHADE STRUCTURE
FOUNTAIN TURNED OFF DURING EVENTS
PARKING LOT USED AS EXTENDED SPACE FOR EVENTS; REMAINS A PARKING LOT FOR EVERYDAY USE
SOUT
H
R
O
U
S
E
A
V
E
MAIN ST
R
E
E
T
ALLEY
PERMEABLE PAVING
NATIVE PLANTING
STREET TREES
FLEXIBLE PLAZA
SHADE STRUCTURE WITH OUTDOOR DINING OR A SMALL STAGE FOR EVENTS
RESTORED CREEK
INTERACTIVE FOUNTAIN, TURNED OFF IN EVENTS
PUBLIC ART
SEATING
SOUT
H
R
O
U
S
E
A
V
E
MAIN ST
R
E
E
T
ALLEY
LARGE EVENT
EVERYDAY OR SMALL EVENT
You told us Downtown
parks need more
flexibility, variety, and
everyday attractions like
food and play.
Parks and Open Spaces survey, 299 responses
What are the top 5 activities
for Soroptimist Park?
1
2
3
4
5
COMMUNITY GATHERING (PLAZA)
PASSIVE USES (SEATING, PICNICKING)
PERFORMANCES (MOVIE NIGHT, MUSIC)
FOOD (POP-UP VENDORS, MARKETS, BEER GARDENS)
PLAY (EQUIPMENT, GAMES, INTERACTIVE WATER FEATURE)
126 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 127 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
Soroptimist Park can be
a great living room for
downtown - a common
ground that enables
community gathering,
performances, play and
markets. Designed as
a flexible plaza, it will
be both a great place
for downtown visitors
everyday and a useful
space for large events.
STREET
T
R
E
E
S
SHADE
S
T
R
U
C
T
U
R
E
INTERA
C
T
I
V
E
F
O
U
N
T
A
I
N
INTERP
R
E
T
I
V
E
S
I
G
N
A
G
E
FLEXIBL
E
P
L
A
Z
A
PUBLIC
A
R
T
SEATIN
G
NATIVE
P
L
A
N
T
S
Imagine a lively, well-used Soroptomist Park!
128 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 129 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
Connected to Nature & Culture
Downtown’s waterways
are a direct connection
to the timeless flow of
nature and can offer
meaningful engagement
to the community.
Bozeman Creek and Story Ditch can be
seen in several locations, but are often piped
under roads or hidden among parking. Yet,
Downtown residents and visitors alike desire
engagement with nature - not just in the
mountains that surround the city, but also
within their daily experience of downtown. The
waterways offer that potential which can be
realized through incremental steps.
RESTORATION AND ACCESS
Ecological restoration - an often overlooked
tool in placemaking - helps to protect and
revitalize urban waterways while fostering
advocacy. Native plantings, healthy streambanks,
green infrastructure and floodplain restoration
are a few key strategies to help bring ecological
health front and center.
Highlight nature whenever
possible, strengthening amenities
that are unique to Bozeman.
INTERPRETATION
Making the water visible and expressing its
value are key to increasing understanding and
building stewardship. In addition to physical
signs, maps, design and digital tools that
highlight urban natural resources, interpretation
can also take the form of public art, both
temporary and permanent. Care should be
taken to engage diverse storytellers, like
“Mountain Time Arts” - whether artists or
graphic designers - to capture the broad cultural
legacies and stories associated with these shared
landscapes.
ACTIVATION
Nothing builds stewardship for natural
resources better than hands-on engagement.
Creating points of access to the water’s edge
and the water itself, overlooks and seating
areas and continuous pathways allow the public
to experience the waterways, watching their
change and dynamism over the course of a
day and throughout the seasons. Public events
and art can creatively leverage waterways as
destinations, bringing people to the creek and
delighting them with the potentials.
CRYSTAL SPRINGS HABITAT RESTORATION,PORTLAND, OR
ACCESS AND PLACEMAKING, SHANGRI LA BOTANICAL GARDEN, ORANGE TX
ARTFUL INTERPRETATION
ART ACTIVATION, WALLER CREEK, AUSTIN, TX
ECOLOGICAL STORYTELLING
130 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 131 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
SURFACE PARKING
FENCES + BARRIERS FLOOD PLAIN
VOLUNTEER VEGETATION
CULVERTS
RETAINING WALLS
MINIMAL ‘BANK’ HABITAT
Existing Bozeman Creek
Bozeman Creek is hard to engage with
Downtown. Often behind barriers, like
fences and walls, the creek’s edges are largely
overgrown and walled - minimizing both
visual and physical connection to it by visitors
and residents. Its engineered form allows for
maximizing useful urban parcels adjacent
but relegates the creek to a “back of house”
function. Often, it is adjacent to surface parking
lots and roadways with little or no treatment of
stormwater run-off that may find itself into the
creek. Lastly, as a dynamic system, the creeks
experience occasional flooding which, rather
than being accounted for in creative ways,
brands the creek to some as more nuisance than
resource.
FILTER STORMWATER
OPEN VIEWS AND REMOVE BARRIERS
PLANT NATIVE VEGETATION
CELEBRATE CULVERTS
CREATE PLACES TO LINGER
INTERPRET ECOLOGY
EXPAND ‘BANK’ HABITAT
Proposed Bozeman Creek
Bozeman Creek can be revealed in a series
of relatively low investment actions, done
in concert with public land or adjacent
landowners. A healthy creek system is where
the creek’s natural geometry creates dynamism,
ecological variety, and improved flooding
mitigation. Planting is managed to allow
for views, seasonal interest and biodiversity.
Engagement includes creative placemaking, like
places to linger, seating, shade, artful crossings
and education and interpretation. Reuniting the
creek with the city’s overall hydrological story
also means connecting and filtering stormwater.
Recent improvements at Bogert Park provide
a useful test case of some of these strategies,
suggesting a healthier way forward for these
natural waterways.
132 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan 133 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
Downtown
Bozeman
Improvement Plan
Appendix
May 2019
A Reference Maps
Appendices
B Unified Development Code (UDC) Suggestions
C Market Analysis Memorandum
2 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan Appendix
A Reference Maps
Appendix
3 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan Appendix
MENDE
N
H
A
L
L
S
T
R
E
E
T
MAIN ST
R
E
E
T
BABCO
C
K
S
T
R
E
E
T
OLIVE S
T
R
E
E
T
CURTISS
S
T
R
E
E
T
KOCH S
T
R
E
E
T
VILLARD
S
T
R
E
E
T
MAIN S
T
R
E
E
T
H
I
S
T
O
R
I
C
DISTRI
C
T
OLIVE S
T
R
E
E
T
BOZEMAN CREEK
STORY S
T
R
E
E
T
LAMME
S
T
R
E
E
T THIRD AVENUEGRAND AVENUEWILLSON AVENUETRACY AVENUETHIRD AVENUEGRAND AVENUEWILLSON AVENUETRACY AVENUEBLACK AVENUEBOZEMAN AVENUECHURCH AVENUEBEALL S
T
R
E
E
T
ALLEY
ALLEY
Potential Capacity (buildings are hypothetical and for illustrative purposes only)
Urban Renewal District boundary
Potential Sites for Future Parking Structures/Expansion
Approved or Proposed*
Main Street Historic District boundary
Existing
Under Construction*
Legend
+P
+P
+P
+P
EMERSON LAWN
BOGERT PARK
SOROPTOMIST PARK
+P
+P
LAMME
S
T
R
E
E
T
MAIN S
T
R
E
E
T
STORY DI
T
C
HBLACK AVENUEBOZEMAN AVENUEROUSE AVENUECHURCH AVENUEWALLACE AVENUE
BROAD
W
A
Y
A
V
E
URBAN
R
E
N
E
W
A
L
DISTRIC
T
THEORETICAL MODEL FOR ILLUSTRATIVE PURPOSES ONLYPAGE 56-57 OF DOWNTOWN BOZEMAN IMPROVEMENT PLAN
+P
LINDLEY PARK
CREEKSIDE PARK
BEALL PARK
*As of January 1, 2019
4 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan Appendix
MEND
E
N
H
A
L
L
S
T
BABC
O
C
K
S
T
South Tracy/South Black
Bon Ton
Cooper Park
National Register Historic District Note: Not all historic structures may be included on this map; the data is based on the formal list and a specific study from 2016
Existing
Individually Listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Noted as possibly historic in a 2016 assessment
Legend
MAIN
S
T
BOZEMAN CREEK
STORY DITCHROUSE AVE
WALLACE AVE
WILLSON AVE
Main Street
Lindley Place
North Tracy
Historic Districts and
Protected Character
Page 70-71 of Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
5 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan Appendix
B Unified Development Code (UDC) Suggestions
Appendix
6 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan Appendix
Downtown Improvement Plan Update Appendix – 4/25/2019 Unified Development Code (UDC) Suggestions
Note: this appendix is intended to explain how recommended improvements from the Downtown Improvement Plan Update
can be incorporated into the Unified Development Ordinance. Details of actual future zone text amendments will be worked
through with City Staff and subject to a full public process and hearing.
# SECTION QUICK SUMMARY RECOMMENDED
CODE LANGUAGE
EXISTING
CODE LANGUAGE
1 38.300.110.
D
The intent of the B3 zone should
be amended to maintain
requiring high-volume
pedestrian uses in the Core
Area (defined as “Main Street
from Grand to Rouse and to
the alleys one-half block north
and south”) but allow more use
flexibility within alleys.
[Note: snow removal, garbage
collection, accessibility,
addressing, utility coordination/
maintenance will need to be
carefully studied and
coordinated as uses increase
on the alleys.]
Principles:
More than Main Street
For Everyone
This district encourages high
volume, pedestrian-oriented
uses for the ground floor in
the Core Area of the city's
Downtown District, i.e.,
along Main Street from
Grand to Rouse and to the
alleys one-half block north
and south from Main Street.
Businesses accessed solely
from an alley are permitted
lower volume pedestrian
uses described below.
Lower volume pedestrian
uses such as offices,
apartment buildings and
artesian/light
manufacturing may locate
on ground floor space in the
downtown B-3 area outside
the above-defined Core
Area or when accessed
solely from an alley.
This district encourages high
volume, pedestrian-oriented
uses in ground floor space in the
"core area" of the city's central
business district, i.e., along Main
Street from Grand to Rouse and
to the alleys one-half block north
and south from Main Street.
Lower volume pedestrian uses
such as professional offices may
locate on ground floor space in
the downtown B-3 area outside
the above-defined core.
2 Table
38.310.040.
B,
Footnote 3
&
Coordinat
e with
Tables
38.510.030.
A
and
38.510.030.
B
Allow more flexibility for offices
and daycares Downtown.
The Storefront designation is
intended to relate to form and
not use; however, as written,
the code does not permit
offices on the ground floor
along parts of Mendenhall that
are designated storefront
because Table 38.510.030.B
requires “Retail” space depth
of 20’ minimum.
Principles:
More than Main Street
For Everyone
[Edit footnote 3 for offices]
3. Only lobbies and stairs for
the applicable use are
allowed in the Core Area.
-and-
[Eliminate this footnote
entirely for Daycare Centers
as they are vibrant services.]
Note: as Bozeman continues
to update the UDC, it is
recommended that the
extensive list of uses for the
whole city be simplified.
[Daycare and offices are both
currently subject to Footnote 3
which states]
3. Only lobbies for the
applicable use are allowed on
designated Storefront block
frontages as set forth in section
38.510.020.
[Also need to revise table
language in A5 to eliminate
“retail” minimum depth
reference – see item #11]
7 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan Appendix
2
# SECTION QUICK SUMMARY RECOMMENDED
CODE LANGUAGE
EXISTING
CODE LANGUAGE
3 Table
38.310.040.
C,
Footnote 5
Allow more flexibility for
apartments and apartment
buildings Downtown (outside of
the Core Area) in line with
great historic examples such as
the Blackmore.
Principles:
More than Main Street
For Everyone
Heart of a Thriving City
[Footnote 5]
5. Only lobbies and stairs for
the applicable use are
allowed in the Core Area.
[Footnote 5 currently states]
5. Non-residential uses (except
for lobbies associated with
residential uses) are required on
the ground floor to a minimum
depth of 20 feet from front
building façade on properties
adjacent to designated
storefront streets per section
38.500.010.
4 Table
38.310.040.
D,
Footnotes
3 and 4
Allow more flexibility for artisan
and light manufacturing
Downtown outside of the Core
Area or even within the Core
Area when accessed solely
from an alley.
Principles:
More than Main Street
For Everyone
[Footnotes 3 and 4 should
be combined into one
footnote that reads:]
3. This use is not permitted in
the Core Area (defined as
those properties along Main
Street from Grand to Rouse
Avenues and to the alleys
one-half block north and
south from Main Street)
unless the sole access is
from an alley.
[Footnotes currently state:]
3. For uses in the downtown core
as described below, a high
volume, pedestrian-oriented use
adjoining the building's entrance
on Main Street is required. The
downtown core includes those
properties along Main Street
from Grand to Rouse Avenues
and to the alleys one-half block
north and south from Main
Street.
4. Except on the ground floor in
the downtown core (those
properties along Main Street
from Grand to Rouse Avenues
and to the alleys one-half block
north and south from Main
Street).
5 Table
38.310.040.
E,
Footnote 3
Allow more flexibility for “public,
regional, recreational, and
cultural uses” Downtown.
Principles:
More than Main Street
For Everyone
Heart of a Thriving City
[Eliminate Footnote 3
entirely as these types of
uses are appropriate
anywhere Downtown.]
3. Only lobbies for the
applicable use are allowed on
designed Storefront block
frontages as set forth in section
38.510.020. Otherwise, the
applicable use is permitted
when located on the second or
subsequent floor, or basement,
as defined in section 38.700.030
of this chapter.
8 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan Appendix
3
# SECTION QUICK SUMMARY RECOMMENDED
CODE LANGUAGE
EXISTING
CODE LANGUAGE
6 Table
38.320.050,
Footnote 9
Coordinate with the
Community Plan – “Shape of
Our City” to allow up seven
stories for B3 (outside of the
Core Area) with step back
requirements for upper floors
that face a street.
Additionally, cross-reference
that required zone edge
transitions may further limit
height in certain areas of the
periphery of B3. (Also need to
clarify setback implications of
transitions for small/narrow lots.)
Coordinate with future
Affordable Housing Action Plan
to explore ways to use height to
incentivize smaller units that
have long term affordability
restrictions in place.
Principles:
More than Main Street
For Everyone
Heart of a Thriving City
9. Maximum building height
in the B-3 district is 5 stories in
the “Core Area” and 7
stories outside the “Core
Area.”
[TBD: consider also adding a
height in feet or maximum
story height.]
For buildings with more than
four stories, the floor plates
on levels five through seven
shall step back at least 10
feet from the street-facing
building edge(s) to break
down the form.
Note that zone edge
transitions may further limit
height in accordance with
Section 38.320.060.
9. Maximum building height in
the B-3 district must be 55 feet in
the district core area and 70 feet
outside of the core area.
7 38.400.100.
A
Add flexibility for the
Engineering Department to
look at site-specific details
when evaluating required
street vision triangles.
Use existing code language for
access standards – Section
38.400.090.H “Modifications of
property access standards” as
a template.
[TBD - coordinate with
Engineering Department to
work out exact language
and standards.]
Example language:
Modifications of street vision
triangle standards. 1. Some
of the standards listed in this
section, may be relaxed by
the review authority if it is
shown during the
development review
process that more efficient
design can be
accomplished without
jeopardizing the public's
health, safety and welfare,
the intent of this chapter, or
the intent of the city's
growth policy…
Arterial streets. On corner lots on
arterial streets in all districts, no
fence, wall or planting in excess
of 30 inches… is permitted within
a triangular area defined as
follows: beginning at the
intersection of the projected
curblines … thence 50 feet along
one curbline, thence diagonally
to the point 50 feet from the
point of beginning on the other
curblines, then to the point of
beginning, except when traffic
control signals are installed, in
which case the a local street
vision triangle shall apply.
Nothing in this section prohibits
portions of buildings 12 feet or
more above grade from
encroaching into required vision
triangle setbacks. [40 feet for
Local/Collectors]
9 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan Appendix
4
# SECTION QUICK SUMMARY RECOMMENDED
CODE LANGUAGE
EXISTING
CODE LANGUAGE
8 38.320.020
[Also
38.410.060
&
38.400.090.
B]
Promote narrow townhomes
with stacked utilities and
narrower easements in the B3
zone.
Principles:
For Everyone
Walkable and Accessible
TBD
[Continue to work with the
Engineering Department to
come up with standards
that are safe but still
promote narrow lots
especially Downtown.
Coordinate with ongoing
efforts related to Cottage
Housing.]
Lots less than 3,000 square feet,
or less than 25 feet wide may be
limited in their ability to comply
with other required standards of
the municipal code.
9 38.510.030 Block frontage standards are
intended to result in a certain
form rather than dictate
specific uses therefore,
references to uses (20 feet of
retail space depth) should be
removed so that Article 3
should be the only section of
the UDC that dictates uses
Downtown.
Principles:
More than Main Street
Walkable and Accessible
Land Use: See Tables
38.310.030.040 for permitted
use details.
[References to “commercial
space depth” and more
importantly “retail space
depth” are recommended
to be removed for B3 so
that Article 3 controls use
rather than Article 5.]
Land Use: Non-residential uses
specified in 38.10.020, except for
lobbies associated with
residential or hotel/motel uses on
upper floors.
Table 38.510.030.A “Minimum
commercial space depth = 20’
(new buildings only)
Table 38.510.030.B “Retail space
depth 20’ minimum”
10 Table
38.540.050
-1
Currently, all residences in B3
only require one parking space
per unit regardless of the
number of bedrooms. To
increase the overall housing
unit supply and promote
smaller and more affordable
1BR and studio units,
recommend decreasing the
residential parking standards for
one-bedroom units and
increasing the required number
of spaces for 3+ bedroom units.
This edit would result in less
required parking for smaller 1BR
units, no change for a two-
bedroom unit and more
required parking for a three-
bedroom unit.
Principles:
For Everyone
Studio – 0.5 spaces
1 BRs – 0.75 spaces 2 BRs – 1 space 3 BRs – 1.5 spaces
[Eliminate all references to
B3 in the larger parking
chapter and create a new
section and table that
describes parking in B-3.]
All types of dwellings within the B-3 district –
1 space
[additional reductions may also
apply]
10 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan Appendix
5
# SECTION QUICK SUMMARY RECOMMENDED
CODE LANGUAGE
EXISTING
CODE LANGUAGE
11 38.540.050.
7
(several
sections
would
need to
be
amended
to
coordinat
e edits)
Exempt the “Core Area” from
parking requirements and
group and simplify the parking
requirements for rest of B3 with
a blended rate factor that has
“built-in” reductions that
recognize shared public
surface and structured parking,
transit availability, bike
infrastructure, walkability, mixed
use, variable hours of operation
for different business types and
overall district capture of
parking demand (park once;
shop twice concept).
Note this recommendation only
works in combination with the
other parking
recommendations to “unlock”
existing spaces, create more
choices beyond driving and
expand parking capacity.
Principles:
More Than Main Street
Heart of a Thriving City
Walkable and Accessible
For Everyone
Eliminate parking
requirements in the “Core
Area.”
Establish new factors:
• 0.6 spaces per
hotel room
(including
accessory uses up
to 20% of the
building area)
• 1 space per 1000
gross square feet
for all other uses.
Eliminate the list of parking
reductions.
[Examples of current
requirements:]
Residential: 1 space per unit
Retail: 1 per 300 SF net
Office: 1 per 250 SF net
Health & Exercise: 1 per 300 net
Hotels: 1.1 per guest room (+
accessory uses)
Restaurants: 1 space per 50
square feet of indoor public
serving area + 1 space per 100
square feet of outdoor area
List of reductions:
More than one adjustment may
apply. Multiple adjustments are
added together to modify the
minimum required parking from
Table 38.540.050-3 in a single
operation. Multiple adjustments
are not applied sequentially.
The first 3,000 gross square feet
of a non-residential building
within the B-3 district or adjacent
to designated storefront block
frontage per section 38.500.010
is not included in the calculation
of required parking.
15% reduction when the site is
within 800 feet of a parking
structure of at least 200 spaces
10% reduction where the
development is within 800 feet of
a developed and serviced
transit stop.
10% reduction for on-site bicycle
facilities
11 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan Appendix
6
# SECTION QUICK SUMMARY RECOMMENDED
CODE LANGUAGE
EXISTING
CODE LANGUAGE
12 38.540.050.
A.
3.b
Move description of cash-in-lieu
of parking to the B3 specific
section so all B3 parking related
items are in one location.
Consider requiring that a
percentage of cash-in-lieu of
parking money go toward
multi-modal transit alternatives.
Also, as stated in the
Downtown Strategic Parking
Management Plan: “Re-
evaluate and clarify the
legality, purpose and intent of
SID 565…”
Principles:
Walkable and Accessible
Heart of a Thriving City
TBD
[Edits to code language will
be addressed separately in
coordination with the
Parking Commission,
ongoing data studies and
the Downtown Strategic
Parking Management Plan
which recommends first
initiating a legal review and
then making appropriate
revisions.]
Cash-in-lieu modifications to
parking requirements in B-3
district. Where all or part of the
required parking spaces cannot
be provided for a proposed use
in the B-3 District, either through
ownership or lease of the
necessary land, the petitioner
may satisfy the parking
requirements by providing an
equivalent cash-in-lieu payment.
All real property assessed by
special improvement district (SID)
No. 565, or other similarly
adopted improvement districts
designed to provide additional
parking spaces within the B-3
district, will not be required to
provide additional parking
spaces beyond those required at
the time of the SID adoption,
provided the use of the real
property and improvements
remains unchanged from the
initial assessments of SID No. 565,
or other similarly adopted
improvement districts;
13 38.540.060 Need more flexibility for “Joint
Use of Parking” to allow
development to lease from
existing surface parking lots that
are underutilized to “unlock”
existing parking. Numerous
parking facilities in downtown
are underutilized; however,
owners are reluctant to tie up
property with recorded long-
term (typically 25 years) lease
agreements or to make
expensive improvements to
parking lots.
Principles:
More than Main Street
Walkable and Accessible
For Everyone
TBD
[Explore language to
expand options for joint use
of parking - especially for
employee parking if
connected by multi-modal
transportation.]
[Clarify that certain existing
downtown parking lots can
qualify as legal non-
conforming uses so that only
safety improvements are
required to qualify for
shared parking.]
The parties sharing parking
spaces must enter into a long-
term joint use agreement
revocable with review authority
approval, running with the term
of the designated uses.
… must be located within 1,000
feet of such parking facilities…
…A properly drawn legal
instrument, executed by the
parties concerned for joint use of
off-street parking facilities, duly
approved as to form and
manner of execution by the city
attorney, must be filed with the
city clerk and recorded with the
county clerk and recorder.
12 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan Appendix
7
# SECTION QUICK SUMMARY RECOMMENDED
CODE LANGUAGE
EXISTING
CODE LANGUAGE
14 38.540.070 Need more flexibility for “Off
Site Parking;” recommend
removing or increasing
maximum distance
requirements.
Principles:
Walkable and Accessible
For Everyone
TBD
[Explore language to
expand options for off-site
parking – especially for
employee parking may be
located farther if
connected by multi-modal
transportation.]
[Loosen restrictions for
parties utilizing off-site
parking spaces.]
[Explore establishing parking
garage rates, policies and
standards.]
4. Off-site parking for multiple
household dwellings may not be
located more than 300 feet from
any commonly used entrance…
5. Off-site parking for non-
residential uses may not be
located more than 1,000 feet
from the entrance of the
principal use…
6. Any use which depends upon
off-site parking to meet the
requirements of this chapter
must maintain ownership or
provide evidence of a long-term
lease agreement, revocable
with review authority approval,
running with the term of the
designated use, for parking
utilization of the off-site location.
15 38.550.050.
C
Parking lot landscaping should
be treated differently in an
urban core than in a large
suburban parking lot. Consider
adding more options for urban
elements. For example, a low
perimeter seating wall with
extra perimeter trees/grates in
lieu of internal landscaping
islands.
Of course, safety (access
locations, lighting, striping, etc.)
and stormwater are issues that
needs to be addressed
regardless of the location of the
parking lot.
TBD
[Explore options to allowing
more urban design
alternatives as a substitute
for internal parking lot
landscaping in B3.]
e. Additionally, any parking lot
providing 15 or more parking
spaces must have a minimum of
20 square feet of landscape
area within the parking lot for
each off-street parking space in
the lot…
e.2 Internal parking lot
landscaping provided must be
proportionately dispersed so as
to define aisles and limit
unbroken rows of parking to a
maximum of 100 feet, with
landscaped areas provided in
an appropriate scale to the size
of the parking lot; and
e.3 The minimum width and/or
length of any parking lot
landscaped area is eight feet.
13 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan Appendix
8
# SECTION QUICK SUMMARY RECOMMENDED
CODE LANGUAGE
EXISTING
CODE LANGUAGE
16 Table
38.560.060
Add provision for alley signage
in B3 to better activate and
light the alleys and to provide
opportunities for smaller and
sublet tenant spaces. Wall-
mounted artful neon signs, for
example, would promote the
concept of local discovery by
treating the alleys as a unique
outdoor gallery.
Don’t penalize front primary
businesses or require existing
signage to be reduced just to
allow a small sign along the
alley for an additional business.
Principles:
More Than Main Street
For Everyone
[Add footnote 1 to the B3
column and add footnote
as follows:]
1 Alley Signage: each
business in the Downtown
B3 District is allowed one 9
square foot wall sign per
entrance on an alley (neon
is allowed). This is in addition
to the maximum 250 square
foot per lot allowance.
[NA – this would be a new
footnote]
17 38.700.180 The current definition of
townhouse does not allow for
townhome vertical duplexes;
however, this is great way to
increase housing supply and
diversity to encourage more
affordable rental units in
Downtown.
Principles:
For Everyone
TBD
[Coordinate with Building
Division to add a new
definition of “Townhouse,
Vertical Duplex” Use Block
M example.]
Townhouse. A dwelling unit,
located on its own lot, that
shares one or more common or
abutting walls with one or more
dwelling units, each located on
its own lot. A townhouse does
not share common
floors/ceilings with other dwelling
units.
14 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan Appendix
9
# SECTION QUICK SUMMARY RECOMMENDED
CODE LANGUAGE
EXISTING
CODE LANGUAGE
18 38.420.030 Cash in lieu of dedicated
parkland and improvements in
lieu of dedicated parkland are
great existing options for urban
residential infill projects.
Downtown should continue to
coordinate with the Parks
Department to organize and
prioritize the park and open
space projects identified in the
Downtown Improvement Plan.
Downtown should coordinate
with the future Affordable
Housing Action Plan to explore
eliminating or reducing the
parkland requirement in B-3 for
units that will have long-term
affordable restrictions in place.
While residents living in
affordable units and market
units equally deserve access to
great parks, affordable infill
projects Downtown are
different from other newer parts
of town in that Downtown is
already within walking distance
to seven existing quality parks
which total 73 acres.
Principles:
Walkable and Accessible
Connected to Nature & Culture
For Everyone
TBD
[Coordinate with the
Recreation and Parks
Department to determine if
any additional language or
edits are recommended.
Note that this item may be
better suited to a policies
and procedures rather than
code edits.]
[Coordinate with future
Affordable Housing Action
Plan.]
1. The city must use a cash
donation for development or
acquisition of parks to serve the
development.
2. The city may use the cash
donation to acquire or develop
parks or recreational areas
within its jurisdiction or for the
purchase of public open space
or conservation easements, only
if:
a. The park, recreational area,
open space or conservation
easement is within a reasonably
close proximity to the proposed
development; and
b. The city commission has
formally adopted a citywide
park plan that establishes the
needs and procedures for use of
the cash donation.
15 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan Appendix
10
# SECTION QUICK SUMMARY RECOMMENDED
CODE LANGUAGE
EXISTING
CODE LANGUAGE
19 38.340 Downtown (including the entire
B3 District) needs to be
recognized within the
Neighborhood Conservation
Overlay District (NCOD) as a
distinct and independent
‘neighborhood’ with its own set
of design guidelines.
Alternatively, Downtown could
explore creating its own
separate overlay district.
Future edits should also include
more design flexibility so that
both existing and new buildings
can better respond to each
unique site, use and historic
context (departures, deviations,
relaxations, etc.).
Related note: also
recommended in the plan are
zone map amendments to
better coordinate expectations
along the periphery of B3. Each
of the identified areas of
inconsistency should be
addressed through careful
study and strategic relocation
of the zoning boundary line.
TBD – actual code changes
related to this issue would
need to be carefully
considered and
coordinated.
[The architectural
appearance design
guidelines listed in the
column to the right should
be re-evaluated and
potentially expanded. New
design guidelines should
clearly supplement and
clarify these general
categories and be place-
specific to Downtown.]
Architectural appearance
design guidelines used to
consider the appropriateness
and compatibility of proposed
alterations with original design
features of subject structures or
properties, and with neighboring
structures and properties, must
focus upon the following:
1. Height;
2. Proportions of doors and
windows;
3. Relationship of building
masses and spaces;
4. Roof shape;
5. Scale;
6. Directional expression, with
regard to the dominant
horizontal or vertical expression
of surrounding structures;
7. Architectural details;
8. Concealment of non-period
appurtenances, such as
mechanical equipment; and
9. Materials and color
schemes…
When reviewing a
contemporary, non-period, or
innovative design for new
structures or additions to existing
structures, the review authority
must be guided by the design
guidelines for the neighborhood
conservation overlay district to
determine whether the proposal
is compatible with any existing or
surrounding structures.
16 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan Appendix
C Market Analysis Memorandum
Appendix
17 - 2019 Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan Appendix
LELAND CONSULTING GROUP
Market Analysis | Bozeman Downtown Plan | 1
Memorandum
Date December 10, 2018 | Revised February 1, 2019
To Brie Hensold, Agency Landscape + Planning
From Alisa Pyszka, Leland Consulting Group
Subject Market Analysis
Project Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan
BACKGROUND
Project Description
The Downtown Bozeman Partnership (DBP) is updating the Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan. One objective of the Plan is to foster private investment growth by identifying market-supported redevelopment
opportunities across a variety of potential commercial and residential land use types.
Analytic Objectives
This document provides a baseline assessment of real estate, market, and other economic conditions affecting
the downtown study area. Based on observed supply and demand characteristics and real estate trends, this analysis provides findings and highlights opportunities at the downtown level.
The City of Bozeman recently adopted the Demographic and Real Estate Market Assessment completed in January 2018 by EPS that will be utilized to prepare the city’s Community Plan. The EPS report includes an assessment of population and household growth, income, employment, educational attainment, and other
relevant demographic trends. This document utilizes EPS projections to maintain consistency between the two Plans and supplements that analysis with the following information.
• Summary of market trends for multi-household residential development, office and retail
• Development trends
• Supply/demand conditions
• Projection of future demand for uses in downtown
Study Area
Downtown Bozeman is in the central portion of the city along Main Street extending approximately three blocks to the north and south generally between 5th Avenue and Broadway Streets. The central core of Main Street consists of the historic brick structures with retail uses and little to no vacancies. The eastern end of Main Street consists of newer construction including the public library and office buildings. The western end includes the County Courthouse, a new hotel expansion and a recent residential rehabilitation of a historic school. This portion of Downtown also connects to the North 7th Avenue urban renewal area. A plan to encourage investment in this area, called the Midtown District, was recently completed and is garnering new development. Since 2009, there have been five new housing projects built in the downtown creating approximately 100 units, and four office projects resulting in 60,000 square feet of new office space.
LELAND CONSULTING GROUP
Market Analysis | Bozeman Downtown Plan | 2
Figure 1: Downtown Bozeman
Source: Agency Landscape + Planning
New development in Downtown Bozeman consists of infill development, which is a more challenging process compared to new development on vacant greenfield sites on the perimeter of the city. Downtown consists of numerous property owners with various perspectives on market value and a willingness to develop.
Furthermore, the various properties with potential for redevelopment range in condition from vacant to having small buildings and underutilized lot configurations, and potentially requiring upgrades to adjacent utilities.
Additionally, it must be considered that only certain uses will support the existing downtown form of a denser
environment with smaller parcels that support walking and bicycle commuting options. With this focus in mind, industrial and single household detached residential uses are not considered in this analysis and instead focuses
on multi-household/attached housing, office, and retail.
HOUSING
Across the city, new residential is developing at densities of 4.0 – 7.0 units per acre gross density. The market is building more single household detached residential units and less mid-density housing types consisting of
townhouses – fourplexes. Construction of the mid-density housing type decreased from 32 percent to 18
percent to of the overall market. There has been slight increase in larger multi-household units of 50+ units from 36 percent to 39 percent.
Main Street
LELAND CONSULTING GROUP
Market Analysis | Bozeman Downtown Plan | 3
Figure 2: Units Built by Density Type, 2005 – 2010 and 2011 - 2016
Source: EPS Market Assessment
Downtown is capturing a portion of the attached residential newly constructed units across the city. Per the
following figure, 2,281 attached units (excludes single household and ADU) have been built in the city since 2010. There have been 100 new units in downtown (B-3 zone) between 2010 and 2016, which averages 16.5
units each year. Downtown captured 4.5 percent of city-wide new attached units since 2010. According to a recent analysis by Urban3, Downtown’s taxable acres account for 0.7% of the City's taxable acres
Figure 3. Residential Construction Trends, 2005-2016
Source: EPS Market Assessment
The location of new residential construction, which includes multi-household, multiplexes and townhomes (“SFR
Attached”), and single-household detached homes, is shown on the following map. “New” construction is considered anything built or permitted from 2010 to April 2018.
LELAND CONSULTING GROUP
Market Analysis | Bozeman Downtown Plan | 4
Figure 4. Multi-household Residential Development by Number of Units
Source: City of Bozeman, Leland Consulting
The location of new multi-household construction, which consists of 5+ units for rent, throughout the city is identified on the following map. There have been no traditional for rent multi-household projects constructed
downtown between 2000 and 2018. The Black Olive project with 45+ rental units is currently under construction. In contrast, several condominium projects for sale such as 5 West, Wilson Residences, and Block M have been constructed since 2010.
LELAND CONSULTING GROUP
Market Analysis | Bozeman Downtown Plan | 5
Figure 5. Multi-household Residential Development by Number of Units
Source: Costar, Leland Consulting
The vacancy rate in the city is below four percent due to the minimal new multi-household residential projects
delivered since 2016 as indicated in Figure 5. This rate is well below the rule-of-thumb equilibrium vacancy rate of 5.0 percent. Any vacancy rate close to or below five percent indicates a “tight” market, with supply not
keeping pace with multi-household demand.
LELAND CONSULTING GROUP
Market Analysis | Bozeman Downtown Plan | 6
Figure 6. Multi-household Residential Rents and Vacancies
Source: Costar, Leland Consulting
Figure 7. Multi-household Residential Delivery and Absorption (For Rent)
Source: Costar, Leland Consulting
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
$1.00
$1.05
$1.10
$1.15
$1.20
$1.25
$1.30
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Vacancy Rate (Percent)Avg. Rent Per Square Foot ($)Rent PSF
Vacancy Rate
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018Number of Multi-householdUnitsNet Absorption
Deliveries
LELAND CONSULTING GROUP
Market Analysis | Bozeman Downtown Plan | 7
Projected Demand
Based on anticipated population growth outlined in the following figure from the EPS report, Bozeman requires
approximately 12,700 housing units by 2045. The following figure projects the amount of each type of unit that
will meet future population demand.
Figure 8. Bozeman Housing Projection
Source: EPS Market Assessment
Excluding the single household detached residential uses, the remaining number of attached units projected within the city is 8,278 units. Applying a downtown capture rate of five percent, based on current trends, would
equate to 414 units downtown by 2045. A higher capture rate of 10 percent would equate to 828 units by 2045. Based on prior and anticipated continuing trends for construction of 50 unit projects, which is 35 percent of the
total demand, it is anticipated that 145 to 290 units within this building type or 3 to 6 new projects could be constructed downtown.
Figure 9. Downtown Housing Projection
Downtown Capture of Attached units by 2045
Rate 5% 10%
Total Units 414 828
5+ Units 145 290
Annual Average by 2045 15 30
Source: EPS Market Assessment, Leland Consulting
Workforce Housing
Nearly half the new jobs created in Bozeman between 2010 and 2016 paid less than $16 per hour or $34,000 annually. Demand for affordable housing is therefore increasing, especially among the 18 to 34-year population
according to the EPS report. While the City has been working to provide housing for a range of incomes, more
can be done across the city. From 2013 to present the City has supported proposals to increase density or enable attached housing and ADUs in various districts.
LELAND CONSULTING GROUP
Market Analysis | Bozeman Downtown Plan | 8
It is important to determine the type of workforce housing required and if supportive services are necessary to serve the population in need. An important objective to provide workforce housing is to not constrict supply and encourage density to allow for a variety of housing types, sizes and rents. It is especially important to
provide this type of housing in denser areas of the city to allow for the residents to utilize alternative modes of transportation besides an automobile. AAA currently estimates that car ownership costs approximately $8,500 a
year to cover costs of the vehicle, insurance, fuel and maintenance. Removing this cost burden effectively increases a person’s income and reduces the percentage dedicated to housing. This strategy is appropriate if the housing demand population is younger and does not require services.
As Bozeman is a micropolitan area surrounded by exceptional natural amenities and currently has minimal transit services most residents require at least one vehicle. We are not discouraging automobile use. We are encouraging future lifestyle patterns require only one vehicle. Therefore, we support modified parking code
requirements to allow for future developments that foster a built environment tied to bicycling, walking and transit in addition to automobile use.
Recommendations
• Continue to actively work with developers to construct multi-household for rent housing projects.
• Allow and encourage, but do not mandate ground-floor retail uses on multi-household projects as the
use can inflate costs and risks if the site is within a weak location for retail.
• Modify parking code requirements to allow for future developments that foster a built environment tied to bicycling, walking and transit in addition to automobile use.
• Continue to invest in multimodal infrastructure that supports bicycle, pedestrian and transit alternatives.
OFFICE
New office supply in Bozeman has been constructed largely outside of downtown. The following figure indicates the location of new construction with office space since 2000. This inventory has been supplemented by tenant
improvements in existing buildings to provide 60,000 square feet of new office space downtown.
LELAND CONSULTING GROUP
Market Analysis | Bozeman Downtown Plan | 9
Figure 10. Bozeman Office Construction by Square Feet
Source: Costar, Leland Consulting
With the delivery of new projects in 2009 and 2010 there was a rise in vacancy and decrease in rents in response to the supply. As the market has absorbed this new office space, rents have increased and vacancy has
decreased to 0%, suggesting demand in the market for office space.
LELAND CONSULTING GROUP
Market Analysis | Bozeman Downtown Plan | 10
Figure 11. Office Delivery and Absorption
Source: Costar, Leland Consulting
Figure 12. Office Rents and Vacancies
Source: Costar, Leland Consulting
Projected Demand
As identified in the EPS report and other supporting work such as the city’s Economic Development Strategy, Bozeman is fortunate to have a rapidly growing high-tech sector focused on photonics and software services.
-40,000
-30,000
-20,000
-10,000
0
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018Square FeetNet Absorption
Deliveries
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
$7.00
$8.00
$9.00
$10.00
$11.00
$12.00
$13.00
$14.00
$15.00
$16.00
$17.00
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Vacancy Rate (Percent)Rent Per Square Foot (Gross) ($)Rent PSF (Gross)
Vacancy Rate
LELAND CONSULTING GROUP
Market Analysis | Bozeman Downtown Plan | 11
This industry is projected to have continued growth, and there are specific opportunities tied to photonics R&D connected with MSU. In keeping with this collaboration, a majority of Bozeman photonics companies are located around MSU and east of 19th Street, essentially surrounding downtown. This trend is important to note
because these companies will utilize the housing and retail uses in downtown desired by their employees, and some may locate on the eastern more industrial edge of downtown as one company has done.
Figure 13. Photonics Company Locations
Source: Leland Consulting
Additionally, the software and digital media companies are similarly located around MSU, with a significant number of them specifically in downtown.
LELAND CONSULTING GROUP
Market Analysis | Bozeman Downtown Plan | 12
Figure 14. Software and Digital Media/Marketing Company Locations
Source: Leland Consulting
ID Company Name ID Company Name ID Company Name ID Company Name
1 Apttus 8 Foundant 15 Service Target 22 Elixiter 2 Quiq 9 IgniteFeedback 16 SplashLab 23 Kudos 3 CommonFont 10 netDuty Online 17 wolfSSL 24 MeBox Media 4 CrossTx 11 Oppleo Security 18 Workiva 25 pulseCHECKER 5 Dataminr 12 Oracle 19 Zadiance LLC 26 Rayno Media 6 FICO 13 OppSource 20 Zinovo 27 Zigco LLC 7 FreeAgent 14 RanchLogs 21 Zoot Enterprises
Because these businesses already show a tendency to locate near MSU and downtown, they warrant further
analysis as potential tenants for downtown. All these businesses fall within the National Association of Industry
LELAND CONSULTING GROUP
Market Analysis | Bozeman Downtown Plan | 13
Classifications (NAICs) of “Professional, scientific and technical services”, which is distinct from other office users such as “information” or “finance and insurance”. Based on interviews with CEOs of companies within the professional, scientific and technical services, there is a demand for downtown office location because of
proximity to other companies and walkable environment to retail amenities. The following projection is for the professional, scientific and technical services industry only, and is therefore conservative. Additionally, this
business sector was selected because it is highly dependent on talent attraction and is more likely to pay higher downtown rents to provide the type of work environment that is competitive and expected within the industry.
According to the EPS report, there is total projected employment of 3,878 people through 2045 within the
professional, scientific and technical services industry alone. Due to the limited office supply across the city, we
are projecting that all of these of employees will require new office space. Industry standard for office space per employee is 250 square feet per employee, which would require a total of 969,500 square feet of new office
space for this industry. Throughout the public outreach process of this project we consulted with employers within this industry. There was a consistent theme that these businesses would like to locate in or remain downtown but due to lack of office space they must locate elsewhere. Considering this demand for downtown
office space we applied a capture rate ranging from 35 to 50 percent in the following figure to determine an approximate allocation of office space to serve the projected growth of the professional, scientific and technical services industry alone. Based on these assumptions, there is potential demand for 400,000 square feet of office
space downtown. The following projection does not account for industries such as real estate or financial services, which are anticipated to provide an additional 4,400 jobs. Those industries do not show a strong need for locating in downtown will grow throughout the city. Nonetheless, this industry group will demand additional
office space downtown beyond what is projected, but not at the same amount.
Figure 15. Professional, Science Technology Industry Downtown Office Space Demand
Source: EPS Market Assessment, Leland Consulting
Total
Employment
Industry
Standard Space
Requirement
250sf/person
35%
Downtown
Capture
Square
Footage
50%
Downtown
Capture
Square
Footage
2045 Growth 3,878 969,500 339,325 484,750
Annual Growth 139 34,625 12,119 17,313
LELAND CONSULTING GROUP
Market Analysis | Bozeman Downtown Plan | 14
Recommendations
Based on quantitative research and qualitative discussions, there is significant demand for new office space. The
barrier to new development is the parking code requirement of 4 stalls/1,000 square feet of office space. Not
only does this exceed the 2016 surveyed demand of 2.7/1,000 (see Parking Analysis for North 7th Avenue) for existing city office buildings, it is expensive to build. Typical costs for building parking stalls (not including land
costs) are outline below.
• Surface: $3,000
• Tuck-under: $15,000
• Wrap structured: $30,000
• Podium structured: $42,000
To provide structured parking on site to meet a parking code requirement that exceed actual demand is a
significant cost that is precluding new development. To remove this barrier, we recommend the following:
• Reduce office use parking requirement to 2 stalls/1,000 square feet
• Allow new development to lease from existing surface parking lots that are underutilized. Remove code
barriers that preclude ability to lease underutilized private stalls.
RETAIL
Retail is generally categorized as the sale of goods consumed by the general public, either material goods or food service. Therefore, when considering this land use category, food and beverage is generally allowed in the
same zones as goods-based retail. The EPS study summarizes the limited future demand for retail by stating “retail development and recruitment does not need to be a priority for the city. Food and beverage is the
exception.” We agree with their finding that “with the contraction in the retail market due to the growth of e-
commerce, there are fewer opportunities to expand retail. In addition, demographic changes are favoring less retail consumption and a shift to the food and beverage market.” The Bozeman tourist base off-sets this trend
to some degree, but not significantly enough to off-set the general national trend. The study continues to
recommend that the city focus on existing commercial centers as a planned location for future retail uses. The following figure identifies the current location of retail development within the city and where recent
development has occurred.
LELAND CONSULTING GROUP
Market Analysis | Bozeman Downtown Plan | 15
Figure 16. Retail Development by Square Feet
Source: Costar, Leland Consulting
Newly constructed large format retailers are not anticipated in a downtown location due to the higher land costs downtown and smaller parcels sizes that do not support a large single-story building footprint with higher
parking requirements than most uses. Instead, future retail will likely utilize existing building space or be incorporated into a large housing or office development. Therefore, rather than quantifying a designated amount of anticipated retail for downtown, we recommend that the Downtown Bozeman Partnership plays an
active role in curating the type of retail that is desired for downtown to intentionally foster a place that serves the surrounding neighborhoods.
LELAND CONSULTING GROUP
Market Analysis | Bozeman Downtown Plan | 16
Projected Demand
Downtown is the appropriate location to capture future demand for food and beverage uses. This type of retail
is the most viable future retail use (you can’t buy a pint of beer over the internet) and it serves as important
amenity for future office and surrounding residents. Furthermore, local food and beverage is typically demanding space that is 2,500 square feet to minimize risk and off-set start-up costs that typically start at
$200,000. This small square footage is appropriate for existing ground-floor space, and more cost effective
than rents required with new construction.
An intentional focus on the retail mix will create the place desired by the community. Because the downtown
consists of numerous property owners, it falls to the DBP, in collaboration with property owners, to serve as the active orchestrator of this mix, like the role of a commercial center operator. Highly successful commercial centers are intentionally programed with events and retailers that serve their desired customer. The DBP should
take on this mindset as well. Of course, the final tenant decision is up to the property owner. However, education and a collective approach to curating tenants that serve a larger vision will ultimately benefit all property owners and the community.
As the retail industry is undergoing significant shifts, the best course of action is to remain flexible. Rather than adopting a traditional planning approach for this industry, we recommend that the community make sure the
regulatory and downtown organization environments are as supportive as possible to retain existing retailers
and allow for new innovations to emerge.
Recommendations
Downtown consists of a distinct district of small retail spaces north and south of Main Street along Grand, Wilson and Tracy. Aligned with this this storefront infrastructure is a large concentration of clothing and gift retailers. In contrast, the bars and restaurants are generally more distributed across the downtown area.
Additionally, these small retail streets connect to the hotels downtown that allows for direct access to the tourist base, which serves as a broader, unique, higher-income customer base inclined to make purchases at the small
boutique retailer. With this physical opportunity in mind, we recommend the following actions to “curate” this boutique retail district even more intentionally to support the success of the existing retailers.
We want to stress that this recommendation is intended to guide DBP actions, not dictate the location of various
types of retailers throughout downtown. The market should and will determine where it locates. However, for DBP it is helpful to understand to the purpose of efforts and desired outcomes.
Curate
• Sales – Help existing retailers increase sales by hiring a retail expert such as Michele Reeves with Civilis. This type of consultant works with city staff, downtown associations and their local property owners and
retailers to educate stakeholders on how to enhance storefront design, internal layouts and operations to maximize sales revenue.
• Collaboration – Work with property owners and retailers regarding this proposed retail district concept
and build an understanding that the success of one benefit all, including the new Lululemon store located on Main Street. The retailers should align to leverage this significant customer draw and
celebrate its presence within the destination boutique retail district. Additional national retailers may
independently decide to locate downtown. We recommend working with this trend and leverage the new customer base rather than expending energy considering how to control it.
LELAND CONSULTING GROUP
Market Analysis | Bozeman Downtown Plan | 17
Additionally, work with the hotels to convey this district concept. They can help promote the retailers by sharing discounts or incentives for travelers. For example, Pure Barre across the street from the Element Hotel provides a discount on classes for hotel customers.
• Inventory - Inventory the retail space within the retail boutique district. The “Improving Tennant Mix: Guide for Commercial District Practitioners” by ICSC provides a good list of elements that should be
documented to prepare an inventory. As space becomes available, work with property owners to recruit retail tenants that compliment the existing retailers to enhance the areas as a defined destination. A consultant such as Civilis can educate property owners as to how they will earn more
revenue in the long run by intentionally “curating” a quality tenant (as opposed to the first option received) that not only benefits downtown but them as well.
• Streetscape – A high-quality retail destination is walkable and encourages shoppers to continue along
storefronts as part of an overall experience. Main Street is successful in this concept with vibrant storefronts along all blocks. However due to the building design, many Main Street corners consist of blank walls that subconsciously discourage a shopper from turning the corner to further the retail
experience. We recommend that projects to enliven the corners are implemented. One example is constructing plantings on the walls as shown below or simply putting out chairs and tables to encourage activity.
Code
• Allow for ground-floor retail but don’t require it beyond the “storefront” designation on Main Street.
Required ground-floor often results in vacancies or non-pedestrian generating services such as financial advisors or banks.
• Maintain the intent of the 3,000 sf parking exemption to remove barrier to retail start-ups.
• Allow food carts as incubators for entrepreneurs and to provide variety of options for downtown tenants and residents. During peak season, perhaps start with a food cart pod.
North Tracy Avenue blank wall Source: Complete Blocks
LELAND CONSULTING GROUP
Market Analysis | Bozeman Downtown Plan | 18
GENERAL LAND USE ALLOCATIONS
In developing the Downtown Bozeman Improvement Plan, it is instructive to anticipate the future allocation of
residential and commercial uses generally anticipated for the downtown district. This information will inform calculations that determine long-term impacts and demand on the utility system, as well as determine if the
district is providing the anticipated amount of land uses needed to serve the growing city population. To determine this ratio of land uses, we utilized the following land demand projection prepared by EPS.
Figure 17. Summary of Land Demand Projections
Source: EPS Market Assessment
This acreage translates to a general percentage of all uses within the higher density scenario summarized below.
Due to the significant amount of anticipated single household detached residential units, 71 percent of the overall city land use will go toward residential uses and 29 percent will be allocated to commercial uses.
Figure 18. Ratio of Land Uses for Entire City
single-household 73%
townhouse 10%
duplex 13%
multi-household 4% total residential 71%
office 26%
industrial 15%
retail 27%
food 10%
institutional 23% total commercial 29%
LELAND CONSULTING GROUP
Market Analysis | Bozeman Downtown Plan | 19
Source: EPS Market Assessment, Leland Consulting Group
In considering this allocation for downtown, it should be recognized that certain uses identified for the entire
city, such as single household detached residential units and industrial, are not appropriate. Retail is also excluded because the anticipated type of future new retail on large site vacant greenfield land would not locate downtown. If those uses are removed from the calculations, the following allocation of land uses across the
entire city is anticipated. This anticipated ratio of 53 percent residential and 47 percent commercial uses would then be applied to downtown.
Figure 18. Ratio of Land Uses for Downtown
townhouse 38%
duplex 47%
multi-household 15% total residential 53%
office 44%
food 17%
institutional 39% total commercial 47%
Source: EPS Market Assessment, Leland Consulting Group
IMPLEMENTATION
Infill development on individual smaller parcels in an area with aging infrastructure is more complex than
traditional new development on vacant “greenfield” sites on the perimeter of the city. Therefore, proactive collaboration by DBP with private developers is required to achieve the downtown vision that serves all of Bozeman. We recommend implementing the following elements to foster healthy public-private partnerships
that serve the broader Bozeman community needs.
Guiding Principles
• Leverage Market Expertise: DBP should view its role as fostering private development that serves the broader community, not as a developer itself. Therefore, it is recommended that DBP does not acquire
parcels to proactively encourage market-rate housing or office development. Unique situations may
arise that require public acquisition, but generally the organization should allow the market to apply its expertise to engage with property owners and acquire property at a fair price.
• Invest in Infrastructure: Constructing infrastructure that benefits the public is an appropriate use of
funds to benefit the broader community. Furthermore, public construction of infrastructure is regarded as a significant cost off-set and incentive by private development.
• Limit Gap Financing Investments: Gap financing is a financial incentive to off-set private development projects that will not be constructed under standard market conditions due to high construction and land costs and low rents. As the Bozeman real estate market is currently strong, gap financing should
LELAND CONSULTING GROUP
Market Analysis | Bozeman Downtown Plan | 20
only be utilized for workforce housing projects to build projects that provide rents for residents with 60 – 80 percent of annual median income (AMI) for an established timeframe. Gap financing may expand to other projects if market conditions decline. However, at this time, DBP should focus on encouraging
development that is not being constructed but needed by the broader community.
Infrastructure as an Incentive
• Remove Uncertainty: Proactively determine where infrastructure gaps exist for sites that are likely to develop. Determine the cost of the project, timeframe for construction and amount of public
investment that can be applied. Work with the city to provide an initial assessment of the infrastructure project to convey that the city has preliminarily reviewed the project and that the anticipated design and cost range can be anticipated with an understanding that a formal review is still required.
• Get Necessary Infrastructure Listed on Capital Improvement Plan (CIP): For eligible projects, work with city to list them on the CIP to allow for public investment that encourages private development of several properties (not just one owner) served by the improvement.
• Remove Process Barriers: DBP should continue to maintain a healthy relationship with city staff reviewing permit applications. Work with city to potentially create team of staff from planning, public
works, historic review, etc. that are consistently committed to downtown projects. This will build institutional knowledge of opportunities and barriers in the area that can be quickly addressed.
• Strategically Use Grants: As infrastructure is a public investment, there is an opportunity to utilize
federal and state grants to fund the design or analysis of needed infrastructure. For example, if the city receives grants pertaining to brownfield redevelopment or stormwater management, application for the evaluation and preliminary design of infrastructure serving downtown should be considered.
• Only Invest in Conjunction with the Market: Do not proactively construct infrastructure to prepare a potential site as an attempt to attract development. For many communities, this practice results in “shovel-ready” sites sitting vacant for years while the committed resources could have been applied to
other projects. Providing a developer with clear overview of the needed infrastructure design, timeframe, process, cost and potential public investment is a significant incentive itself. Once the market has identified a site and is committed to development then the public agencies should invest jointly
with infrastructure investments.
• Parking is Infrastructure: Parking should be regarded as necessary infrastructure to foster desired visitor activity downtown. A new parking structure should remain available to the public to the greatest extent
possible to maximize utilization and meet the needs of customers visiting downtown. Assigning permanently dedicated parking stalls within a structure to a specific building essentially serves as gap
financing for new development as it is off-sets actual parking development costs for a few projects. Instead, leasing stalls to new projects on a limited basis is more appropriate as it allows the infrastructure operator to maximize the utility of the asset by responding to market conditions and
parking demand. New development can be served by reduced parking code requirements that align with actual market conditions and recognition of non-permanent leases to meet requirements.
2019 DOWNTOWN BOZEMAN IMPROVEMENT PLAN
Downtown Bozeman Partnership
City of Bozeman